Reuben vs. Reubin -- Portland confab -- Iron men of Patit Creek -- Fort Clatsop burns

Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation I www.lewisandclark.org November 2005 Volume 31, No. 4

MICHAEL HAYNES, NORTHERN LIGHTS ''O! How HORRIABLE IS THE DAY'': WEATHER, CLIMATE, AND LEWIS & CLARK

THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY'S "RETROGRADE MANEUVERS"

GUNSHOTS AT GRINDER'S STAND: WHAT WAS THE SEQUENCE? Contents

Letters: Charbonneau; Fort Clatsop; Peale, Catlin, and Coues 2 President's Message: Embracing healing circles 4 Bicentennial Council: Patterns on the Lewis & Clark landscape 6 Trail Notes: Stewardship initiatives look toward tricentennial 8

"O! How Horriable Is the Day" 10 H eat, cold, wind, rain, snow, sleet, hail-L&C chronicled them all. Now meteorological science is mining their journals By Terrence R. Nathan

Forecast: Variable 19 A weather sampler on the Lewis and Clark Trail By VernonPre ston Threatening storm on the portage route, p. 11

The Corps of Discovery's "Retrograde Maneuvers" 23 "We proceeded on" may be the journals' most common refrain, but there were days when prudence called for retreat By H. Carl Camp

Reviews 28 New Found Land (verse); The Shortest and Most Convenient Route (essays); L&C in Washington; The Salish and Lewis and Clark; La Charrette; In brief: river journey, L&C review

L&C Roundup 34 Fort Clatsop destroyed by fire; Patti Thomsen takes reins; Passages: Lucie F. Huger, chronicler of St. Albans

For the Record 35 -- Reubin vs. Reuben: What's in a name? Boats in the ice at Fort Mandan, p. 19 By J.I. Merritt

Annual Meeting: Members flock to Portland 37 Dispatches 38 Iron men of Patit Creek By Gary Lentz Soundings 40 The gunshots at Grinder's Stand By Ann Rog ers

On the cover Michael H aynes's painting Northern Lights shows three members of the Corps of Discovery-Lewis, Clark, and the sergeant of the guard- viewing a display of Aurora borealis on the night of November 6, 1804, when the explorers were constructing Fort Mandan. It was the second of three such meteorological light displays they would witness. For more on meteorology and the expedition, see the companion articles by Terrence R. Nathan and Vernon Preston beginning on pages 10 and 19, respectively. Fighting the Missouri, p. 24 Letters In further praise of the beleaguered Charbonneau November 2005 • Volume 31, N umber 4 We Proceeded On is the official publication of I read with interest H. C arl Camp's piece the L ewis and C lark Trail Heritage Foundation, "Rethinking Toussaint Charbonneau" Inc. Its name derives from a phrase that appears (Soundings, August 2005). His reap­ repeatedly in the collective journals of the praisal of the Corps of Discovery's inter­ expedition. © 2005 preter is perceptive. C harbonneau de­ E. G. C hu inard, M.D., Founder serves a better reputation than he has been ISSN 02275-6706 given. Surely he would have been a fel­ low worth knowing. Editor I suspect there were two other factors J. I. Merritt that diminished him in the records of the 51 N . Main Street expedition: Pennington, NJ 08534 609-818-0168 First, he was a French Catholic, at­ tached to a command of white Anglo­ [email protected] Students' model of Fort Clatsop Saxon Protestants who looked down on Volunteer Proofi'eaders pretty much everybody else. He could vice near Astoria, so I get many interest­ H. Carl Camp have been praised only with faint damns. ing ideas of what the students think the Jerry Garr etc Second, in a trek demanding every last fort looked like based on their interpre­ Printed by PRISM Color Corporation, ounce of youthful vigor, Charbonneau tations of the journals. Moorestown, N ew Jersey was at least twice as old as most of the I also show the students a picture of men. No wonder he sometimes seemed a Clark's drawing of the fort found on the EDITORIAi. B 0ARD drag on them. We old coots of the cover of his elkskin journal. This draw­ James J. Holmberg, leader LCTHF ought to envy and cheer him. ing is very similar to the replica at Fort Louisville, Kentucky Vive Toussaint! Clatsop today. Usually, the models built Robert C. Carriker O n a different matter, I enjoyed Rob­ by my students resemble this drawing in Spokane, Washington ert Archibald's Bicentennial Council col­ some way. However, last year I had a Robert K. D oerk, Jr. umn in the same issue about looking for group of students who came up with a Fo1't Benton, Montana "wildness" on the Lewis and Clark Trail. truly novel interpretation. Glen Lindeman I smiled when I read that today's Missouri On December 13, 1805, Joseph White­ Pullman, Washington River has been "damned" and otherwise house makes the fo llowing journal entry: altered in ways that would make it "We had rain & Cloudy weather, dming Membership Information scarcely recognizable to the captains and the whole of this day. We raised another Membership in the Lewis and C lark Trail their men. I have no doubt that the ex­ line of our Huts. they had 2 Rooms in Heritage Foundation, Inc. is open to the public. plorers, in fact, damned it every day as each hut, & were 16 feet in the clear. We Information and applications are available by & writing Membership Coordinator, Lewis and they struggled upstream, fighting its cur­ finished raising the huts, began the Clark Trail H eritage Foundation, P.O. Box rents, snags, and shoals! foundation of another line of them in the 3434, Great Falls, MT 59403. JAMES ALEXANDER THOM same Manner, of those we had raised. the Charter member, three lines composed 3 Squares, & the We Proceeded On, the quarterly magazine of the Foundation, is mailed to current members The Charbonneau Society other square we intend picketting in, & in February, May, Augu st, and November. Bloomington, Ind. to have 2 Gates at the two Corners." Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted From this information four students and indexed in H ISTORICAL ABSTRACTS and concluded that the original fort had three AMERICA: H ISTORY AND L TFE. rows of huts, not the two seen in the rep­ An alternative Fort Clatsop Annual Membership Categories: lica and sketched on Clark's journal cover. Four years ago, I started teaching a class Srudent $30 They also put the fort's gates at the cor­ Individual/Library/Nonprofit $40 called "The History and Science of Lewis ners of the front wall of the fort. This too Family/International/Business $55 and Clark" as an elective for juniors and differs from the replica, whose two gates Heritage Club $75 seniors at Woodburn High School in are at the front and the back. fa.'P lorer Club $150 Oregon. The class focuses primarily on I was extremely pleased by the stu­ Jefferson Club $250 the journey of the Corps of Discovery dents' careful reading and interpretation D iscovery C lub $500 and the people, plants, and animals they of the journals. Near the end of the class, Expedition Club $1 ,000 Leadership Club $2,500 found en route to the Pacific and back. we took a field trip to Fort Clatsop and O ne of the projects I have the students the students brought along their models. The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. do is construct a model of Fort Clatsop Comparing the models to the replica pro­ is a rax-excmpr nonprofit corporation. Individual based on the journal records. Most of the voked lively discussion. membership dues are not tax deductible. The portion students have not seen the replica of the DAVID ELLINGTON of premium dues over $40 is tax deductible. fort maintained by the National Park Ser- Woodburn, O re.

2 - We Proceeded On November 2005 Expedition geology On November 8, 1806, I appreciated reading " 'Speciroine of the Lewis & Clark came home Stone': The Fate of Lewis and Clark's Mineralogical Specimens," by John W. to Locust Grove. Jengo (wro, August 2005). Thanks to Jengo, John W. Hoganson and Edward In November, 2006, join us to celebrate C. Murphy (coauthors of Geology of the their homecoming. Lewis & Clark Trail in North Dakota), and others, we keep getting portions of the geological aspects of the Lewis and ~ Clark story. I too have collected many rock samples along the trail, and I have written about its geology from the Great Falls to the Pacific. My most prized sample is some "Strater of white earth" (Clark, January 7, 1806), w hich I found on the lower Columbia with the help of Roger Wendlick. Anyone wishing to share information on trail geology or trade mineral specimens can reach me at [email protected]. JoHNW. FISHER Juliaetta, Idaho Historic Locust Grove, Louisville, Kentucky www. locustgrove.org/homecoming.htm Peale, Catlin, and Coues ..______M y article about C harles Willson Peale in the August 2005 wro mentions Advertise your Peale's influence on the painter George Catlin. My primary L&C products source for this in­ formation did not and services appear in the end- ~~-; notes. It was pages in WPO! 259-260 of Charles Willson Peale: Son of Liberty, Father of Art & Science (1967), by Robert Plate. AD RATES The Catlin-Clark connection is described Inside front or back cover: in William E. Foley's Wilderness Journey: Black & white, $650; color, $750 The Life of William Clark (2004 ), pages Outside back cover: We Proceeded On Black & white, $800; color, $900 233-234 and 251. (Back issues, 1974 - current) On another subject, with Christmas ap­ inside pages (black & white): All back issues of our quarterly proaching, readers might be interested in Full page: 7 1/4 X 9112 $600 a photo (above) I took two years ago of historical journal are available. 2/3rd vertical: 43/4 X 91/ 2 $400 Some of the older issues are copier the holiday-decorated house at 1726 N 1/2 horizontal: 45/s X 7 1/ 4 $300 Street, N.W, in Washington, D.C., once reproductions. Orders for a l/3rd square: 43/4 X 45/s $200 collection of all back issues receive owned by L&C scholar Elliott Coues. 1/3rd vertical: 21/ 4 X 91/2 $200 MARK CHALKLEY a 30 percent discount. Order your l /6rh vertical: 21/4 X 45/s $100 Baltimore, Md. missing issues to complete your I /12th: 21/ 4 X 23/ 1G $50 set. Call 1-888-701-3434 or order Wro welcomes letters. We may edit them Address inquiries to Karen Rickert, online at www.lewisandclark.org. PO. Box 3434, Great Falls, MT for length, accuracy, clarity, and civility. $5 copier reproductions Send them to us c!o Editor, WPO, 51 N. Main 59403. 406-454-1234/fax: 406-771- $10 originals St., Pennington, NJ 08534 (e-mail: wpo@ 9 23 7. [email protected]. $2 shipping & handling lewisandclark. org).

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 3 The Lewis and Clark Trail President's Message Heritage Foundation, Inc. P.O.B. 3434, Great Falls, MT 59403 Embracing healing circles 406-454-1234 I 1-888-701-3434 Fax: 406-771-9237 am honored to serve as the that all interpretive materials and sup­ www.lewisandclark.org foundation's president for 2005-06 plies had been removed from the fort The mission of the LCTH F is co 2 and will perform the duties of the in preparation for the winter season. stimulate public appreciation of the position to the best of my abilities. I Our staff is in touch with the National Lewis and Clark Expedition's thank the Board of Directors for its Park Service, which administers the site, contributions to America's heritage and confidence in me and for to see what we can do to to support education, research, its commitment to making help. We will keep y ou development, and preservation of the posted on recovery efforts Lewis and Clark experience. a smooth and effective transition into a new era as in WPO and The Orderly Officers the Lewis and Clark Bi­ Report. President centennial draws to a close. Ten years ago I was Pani Thomsen It will be a year to build on privileged to become a Oconomowoc, Wis. the programs and partner­ charter member of the Na­ President-Elect ships created during the tio nal Cou ncil of the Ron Laycock bicentennial as we carry on Lewis and Clark Bicen­ Benson, Minn. with our historic mission as keepers of tennial, an organization spun off from Vice-President the Lewis and Clark story and stew­ the foundation to plan and direct the Jim Gramcncine Mequon, Wis. ards of the Lewis and Clark Trail. commemoration. We recognized early Those who attended the foun­ on that our efforts had to be broad and Secretary Phyllis Yeager dation's 37th annual meeting, held in inclusive (particlarly in regard to Na­ Floyd Knobs, Ind. August in Portland, Oregon, were tive Americans) and that success would Treasttrer treated to a delightful event. Like all of depend on help from many people from Charles H. "Chuck" Holland, Jr. our annual meetings it was a wonder­ many walks of life. For this purpose we Meza, Ariz. ful opportunity to make new friends created "circles" to represent various in­ Immediate Past President and visit with old friends. We owe a terests and advise us on critical issues: Gordon Ju lich huge and heartfelt than.ks to the Oregon COTA (the Circle of Tribal Advisors), Blue Springs, Mo. and Washington chapters for a varied COSA (the Circle of State Advisors), Executive Director agenda of excellent speakers, field trips, and COCA (the Circle of Conservation Carol A. Bronson music, and food (some of which came Advisors). Other crucial partners have Directors at large with its own period dress and "story"). included the National Park Service, For­ .James Brooke, Colorado Springs, Colo. The meeting was also an occasion to est Service, Bureau of Land Manage­ • Tom Davis, Ft. Washington, Penn. • J im honor the first generation of founda­ ment, Corps of Engineers, and the Na­ Mallory, Lexington, Ky. • David Peck, San tion leaders, most of whom hailed from tional Guard, as well as state and local Diego, Calif. • Karen Seaberg, Atchison, Portland. Dr. Gary Moulton, editor of agencies, organizations, and businesses. Kan. •Jon Stealey, Findlay, Ohio • Hal Stearns, H elena, Mont. • Stepheaie the definitive version of the L&C jour­ Ambrose Tubbs, Helena, Mont. • Harry nals, offered warm recollections of A foundation for the future Windland, Glen Carbon, Ill. Robert Lange, Irving Anderson, Bill We have tried to involve everyone with Active Past Presidenb Sherman, and Eldon "Frenchy" Chuin­ a stake in the legacy and future of the David Borlaug, Washburn, N.D. • Robert K. ard and his wife, Fritzie. It was won­ Lewis and Clark Trail and the story it Doerk, Jr., Fort Benton, Mom. • Larry derful that Ruth Lange, although no represents. It has been a wonderful ex­ Epstein, Cut Bank, Mont.• James R. Fazio, longer living in Portland, was able to perience to bring all these people to the Moscow, Id. • Robert E. Gatten, Jr., join us, coming all the way from her table- albeit one huge table-and to Greensboro, N.C. • Jane Henley, Charlottesville, Va. • Stuart E. Knapp, home in Texas. work with them and with our chapters Bozeman, Mont. • Barbara J. Kubik, How fortunate we were to be able in such a worthy enterprise. The rela­ Vancouver, Wash. • H. John Montague, to visit Fort Clatsop during the meet­ tionships we have established will be Portland, Ore. • Cynthia Orlando, ing! By now, most members are surely the basis for our ongoing efforts. This Washington, D.C. •James M. Peterson, Vermillion, S.D. • L. Edwin Wang, aware of the terrible fire that destroyed year the foundation's board will be Minneapolis, Minn. • Wilbur P. Werner, the historic replica on October 3. [See working to find meaningful ways to Mesa, Ariz. story, page 35.] Fortunately, no one was continue these beneficial partnerships

[ncorporated in 1%9 under Missouri General Not­ injured, and the nearby visitors center in behalf of generations to come. l'or-Profit Corporation Act. IRS Exemption (where the Robert Lange collection is - Patti Thomsen Certificate No. 501(c}3, Identification No. 510187715. kept) was unharmed. It was lucky, too, President, LCTHF

4 - We Proceeded On November 2005 MEET DEREK ...

... THE FUTURE OF THE FOUNDATION

- PRESERVE OUR LEGACY­ • INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN THE FOUNDATION • JOIN A CHAPTER • VOLUNTEER ON THE TRAIL • DONATE TO THE FOUNDATION Visit our Website, www.lewisandclark.org or Call (888) 701-3434

Cl 2005 Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 5 Bicentennial Council Patterns on the landscape, real and imposed

;co+ he late TV news broadcaster scape. The pattern appeared to have present day, with an eye toward the - Eric Severeid once called his home fallen from the sky. It repeated itself as future. Like all of us, he wonders what C:.'i state of North Dakota an "artificial far as the eye could see, uninterrupted will come of this years-long effort. The rectangle." When you think about it, by rivers and landforms, which it siin­ book features profiles of active par­ all of our states, cities, and towns are ply ignored. From an airliner at ticipants in the commemora­ artificial rectangles, squares, or other high altitude one sees how the tion, including Gerard Baker, such arbitrarily created shapes. Their land is sliced into rectangles a Mandan-Hidatsa Indian borders are for the most part man-made with little regard for topog­ who serves as superinten­ invisible lines, not those created by na­ raphy and contours, like a dent of the Lewis and ture such as rivers, lakes, and mountain roll of chicken wire flat­ Clark National Historic ranges. Many of these lines were drawn tened on the earth. It is a Trail and who developed early in our nation's history by scien­ pattern defined by survey and directs the Corps II tists, engineers, and explorers. lines and coordinates and traveling exhibition, which Beyond Lewis and Clark: The Army whose underlying purpose is has followed the expedition's Explores the West is a fascinating new consumption. It relates directly to our path throughout the bicentennial. traveling exhibit that recently arrived at ideas about land ownership, for a pre­ Sarasohn w rites, "When Gerard the Missouri Historical Society. O rga­ cise description of location is a prereq­ Baker grew up on the reservation, on nized by the Washington State Histori­ uisite for ownership. the ranch that could see no other lights cal Society in association with the Vir­ The Missouri Historical Society has at night, his parents told him that he ginia Historical Society, Kansas State a yellowed map, stained with the dark would have to live in two worlds." Historical Society, and Frontier Army greasy carbon circle of a hot kettle, that They were right, and their advice to Museum, it tells the story of western was drawn for or by William Clark ac­ Gerard is wisdom we should all heed. explorations planned and led by the U.S. cording to instructions provided by a In this global world, we will all need to Army Corps of Engineers which fol ­ Nez Perce guide. But the Indian map start living in at least two different lowed the Corps of Discovery. doesn't include notations of latitude, worlds. Given the intense focus on the Lewis longitude, compass direction, or mile­ and Clark Bicentennial, it is easy to age. The map is changeable. Time of Upcoming signature events overlook that the exploration of the year is crucial in defining routes from Mark your calendars for November 11 - West did not end with Lewis and Clark. one place to another, especially if there 15, 2005, and plan to attend the upcom­ Their trek marked both the beginning are mountains between the traveler and ing National Council of the Lewis and of the nation's trans-Mississippi expan­ his destination. There is no point show­ Clark Bicentennial National Heritage sion and the beginning of the end of a ing a route over the Bitterroots in April, Signature Event Destination: The Pa­ way of life for many Indian tribes. Lewis because such a route would be a death cific, on the 200th anniversary of the and Clark were themselves captains in march. So the Indian map is chrono­ Corps of Discovery's arrival at the Pa­ the United States Army charged by logical, time sensitive. It portrays a sto­ cific. It offers a week of activities com­ President Thomas Jefferson with find­ ried land, a land imbued with meaning memorating significant events dwing ing a westward water route to the Pa­ predicated upon interrelationships be­ the corps' sojourn on the lower Colum­ cific Ocean. Jefferson instructed them tween land and the people. This map bia and includes activities from Long to draw maps based on measurements shows a river that is not a river in the Beach, Washington, to Cannon Beach, taken by compass and laid out accord­ conventional sense but a combination Oregon. ing to latitude, longitude, mileage, and of tributaries that when followed lead After that, the next signature event altitude. to a destination. It is a route imbued will take place June 14-17, 2006, in I thought of all this as I flew over with stories of what happened there Lewiston, Idaho. Among the Nimipuu the midwestern plains several years ago. before. The map links land and people. will commemorate the expedition's Imprinted and visible on the land be­ Landscape is a crucible for life, ani­ time in Nez Perce country. Venues will low me was the idea of measurement, mated by narrative, ratl1er than an as­ include the Clearwater River Resort the very core of Jefferson's Enlighten­ sortment of passive resources to be and Casino and other locations near the ment approach to understanding the dominated, transformed, and exploited. Nez Perce reservation. More informa­ world. The land was divided into thou­ In his recent book, Waiting for Lewis tion on all signature events can be found sands of rectangular pieces. Roads that and Clark, journalist David Sarasohn at www.lewisandclark200.org. neatly followed section and township chronicles the Lewis and Clark Bicen­ - Robert R. Archibald lines imposed a pattern on the land- tennial from its beginnings t o the President, Bicentennial Council

6 - We Proceeded 011 November 2005 aySeason, of Mem&ership,

Benefits Include:

* A Subscription to We Proceeded On

* A"Subscription to the Foundation Newsletter, ~ The Orderly Repoff , '·~~<>~@t-'§i'.{.~"' * Invitation to Special Member Events

*Volunteer Opportunities on the Trail

* Regional and Annual Meetings

v:· Jt our Website, www.lewisandclark.org ' ,,, or Call the Foundation Office (888) 701-3434

C 2005 Lewis & Clark Trail H!!!ritage Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 7 Trail Notes Stewardship initiatives look toward L&C tricentennial ll~o==i. o learn about the history of a Motorway in Idaho. We also will re­ along the trail. This will allow us to - place, you have to go there. You cruit volunteers to participate in joint positively impact the trail by leverag­ <:. have to hike the trails, canoe the riv­ projects with the Bureau of Land Man­ ing our efforts with those of others and ers, and climb the mountains." Author agement along the Missouri River in to share the stories of the expedition Stephen E. Ambrose wrote this in the central Montana. The with new audiences. foreword to The Lewis and Clark dates and project de- ~ c<_, We will seek ways to partner with Companion, a book by his daughter, tails will be con- ~~ ""+ youth groups and encoura,ge children Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs. It is how he firmed later this /' \ and young families to get healthy by learned the history of the expedition year. The data- .., "'" getting outside. We will encourage and shared it with his famil y, friends, base will include intergenerational activities on and off students, and others. activities hosted ·~, 1~ "l'''' the trail. We will embrace our role as ON.-t \ l' '{ Jefferson, too, believed this philoso­ by state and f ed- t rris TnR stewards so that on next September 23, phy, and it partially influenced his de­ eral agencies, lo- when the Lewis and Clark Bicenten­ cision to instruct Meriwether Lewis to cal communities and chapters. Activi­ nial officially comes to close, there will travel the Missouri River and other ties will be promoted on the foun­ be no doubt as to who will remain to waterways to reach the Pacific Ocean. dation's Web site (www.lewisandclark care for the legacies of the expedition This same philosophy has carried .org) and in The Orderly Report. and the bicentennial. many members of the Lewis and Clark • Production of a media kit and related The foundation will strive to ensure Trail H eritage Foundation to the banks materials so the foundation and its that future generations have the oppor­ of the Missouri, vista points in the chapters can actively support and pro­ tunity to hike the trails, canoe the riv­ Rocky Mountains, and the shores of the mote National Trails Day in June and ers, and climb the mountains to better Pacific. Many members read the jour­ National Public Lands Day in Septem­ understand and appreciate the stories nals along the trail and try to envision ber along the Lewis and Clark National of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. the expedition in the same setting. In Historic Trail and elsewhere. Projects -Wendy Raney some places that is easily done, and in could include building bridges and trail, Director, Field Operations others it takes only a little imagination improving habitat for wildlife, planting to view the setting as it might have ap­ trees, removing invasive plants, and peared two centuries ago. Will people protecting natural, historic, and cultural be able to have the same experiences resources. Missouri D.A.R. wins plaudits during the expedition's tricentennial­ • Development of a resource directory to understand what occurred in vari­ for speakers who can make presenta­ The LCTHP has presented its Merito­ ous settings? I believe they will, but tions to chapters or conduct training on rious Achievement Award to the Mis­ only if we are committed to our role as stewardship issues. souri Daughters of the American Revo­ stewards of the trail and to ensuring • Publishing A Guide to Cultural lution, which has marked 14 gravesites there are place to hike, waters to canoe, Awareness and Stewardship along the of Corps of Discovery members, most and vistas to enjoy. Lewis and Clark National Historic recently those of George Shannon and The foundation plans to revitalize its Trail, which will include contact infor­ Robert Frazer. stewa~·dship activities in 2006 by pro­ mation for and the mission of each The organization has partnered with viding opportunities for people with land-management agency along the the U.S. Geological Survey to place an varied interests along the trail. These trail; an explanation of tribal issues informative display in the Capitol Plaza plans include: along the trail; contact information for Hotel in Jefferson City and with the •Development of a volunteer steward­ federally recognized tribes along the Missouri Humanities Council and the ship database. It w ill provide descrip­ trail; information on the legal aspects National Endowment of Humanities tions of volunteer activities with dates, of heritage protection and the Sacred on other events. locations, contact information, and Site Protection Act; information on The group's recognition of the L&C skills and exp~ri ence required. The positive stewardship practices and rec­ Bicentennial has also included a state­ foundation will cosponsor a minimum reating responsibly; and information on wide ringing of bells. Each of the 117 of four volunteer activities in 2006. We existing stewardship programs and how Missouri D.A.R. chapters has held at will look for nine volunteers in July and to participate. least one program related to the expedi­ September to conduct campsite moni­ The foundation will consider inno­ tion. The state D.A.R. has also identi­ toring and cleanup in cooperation with vative ways to partner with public and fied and recognized 19 members who are the U .S. Forest Service on the Lolo private groups that share our interests descendants of expedition members. •

8 - We Proceeded On November 2005 OPEN CHARLES FRITZ: AN ARTIST WITH DAILY THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY

HOURS ~ lOam-Spm THE COLUMBIA GORGE ADMISSION INTERPRETIVE $6 Adult CENTER $5 Student/Senior MUSEUM $4 Child ( 5 and under free) 13, 000 years ofc ultural and natural hist01y! Located 88 paintings of the L&C Expedition 45-minutes east of Lewis & Clark Exhibit Portland/Vancouver- by one of the West's leading artists 1' /2 mL east of Farcountry Press $29.95 / www.farcountrypress.com 1917 Curtiss Bi-Plane "Bridge of In collaboration with the the Gods." Vintage Logging Truck University of Montana, a touring Powerful Corliss Steam Engine Below Dolce Skamania Lodge. exhibit of Charles Fritz's L&C paintings can be seen at the Fascinating Community Section 1.5 miles from the following venues: Dynamic Creation Theatre I 0/30-31/ 1805 L&C Campsite. Booth Museum of Western Art, World's l-argeetk~ Colledlon Cartersville, Ga. Nat,lve Attifa$ 990 SW Rock December 2005 - April 14, 2006 Creek Drive Yellowstone Art Museum, PO Box 396 Billings, Mont. Stevenson, WA June 3 - August 20, 2006 98648 MacNider Art Museum, 509 427 8211 Mason City, Iowa 800 991 2338 September 2006 - January 2007

FULL-COLOR I PRINTS 1 Explorations Uniforms and dress of the into the Corps of Discovery, World of by artist MICHAEL Lewis & Clark HAYNES www.mhaynesart.com. Edited by Robert A. Saindon

~HE MYSTBRY,,. OF 194 articles from WPO LOST TRAib p ASS 3 volumes,1,493 pages A Qyest for Lewis and Clark's $79.85 paper Campsite 0f September 3, 1805

WPO Supplementary Publication $12, plus $·3 ,s)Pppin~ Order from Lost Trail Book I P.O. pox 343-4 Digital Scanning, Inc. Great Fall~ MT 59403 (888-349-4443; www.di gita lsc an ni ng. com) 1-8&~h701-3434-

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 9 "O! HOW HORRIABLE

Heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, sleet, hail­ Lewis and Clark chronicled them all. Now science is mining their journals for insights into climate change

BY TERRENCE R. NATHAN

n June 29, 1805, William Clark was exploring many such weather extremes. They endured torrential rain, the Great Falls of the Missouri when a menac­ violent wind, numbing cold, parching heat, and one of 0 ing thunderhead appeared on the western ho­ the soggiest winters ever recorded in the Pacific North­ rizon. Being well familiar with the fury of prairie storms, west. Lewis and Clark were careful observers of these the captain and his three companions- Toussaint Char­ conditions, which they recorded daily in a weather diary bonneau, Sacagawea, and their infant, Pomp-sought shel­ for 33 consecutive months- from January 1, 1804, while ter under some overhanging rocks in a ravine near the river. in winter quarters at Camp River Dubois, to September Soon the skies opened. As Meriwether Lewis later de­ 30, 1806, eight days after their return to St. Louis.2 scribed the scene, "a most violent torrent of rain decended In his famous instructions to Lewis, Thomas Jefferson accompanyed with hail; the rain appeared to decend in a advised him to keep careful note of climate and its effect body and instantly collected in the rivene and came down on flora and fauna-"climate, as characterised by the ther­ in a roling torrent with irrisistable force driving rocks mud mometer, by the proportion of rainy, cloudy & clear days, and everything before it." by lightning, hail, snow, ice, by the access & recess of frost, With the flash flood raging toward them, Charbonneau by the winds prevailing at different seasons, the dates at crawled up the bank and attempted to pull Sacagawea and which particular plants put fonh or lose their flower, or Pomp up behind him while Clark scrambled and pushed leaf, times of appearance of particular birds, reptiles or from below. So sudden was the water's rise, wrote Lewis, insects."3 that it was up to Clark's waist before he began his frantic At the time, knowledge about the climate of the trans­ climb, "and he could scarcely ascend fas ter than it arrose Mississippi West was sparse. Even Jefferson, who was ar­ till it had obtained the debth of 15 feet with a current guably the most knowledgeable meteorologist of his day, tremendious to behold." A moment longer and they would believed the expedition would traverse a "moderate cli­ have been swept into the river and "inevitably perished" mate," an assumption that would prove sharply at odds in the falls below.1 with reality.4 Throughout their 28 months on the trail, Clark and Lewis spent several months in Philadelphia preparing fellow members of the Corps of Discovery experienced for the expedition. At Jefferson's behest he was tutored in

10- We Proceeded On November 2005 CHARLES FRITZ, THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY'S PORTAGE AROUND THE GREAT FALLS OF THE MISSOURI

With a summer storm sweeping across the prairies, the explorers haul one of the dugout canoes along the portage route at the Great Falls. the natural and applied sciences by some of the nation's telegraph, allowed scientists to collect contemporaneous leading authorities at the American Philosophical Soci­ weather data, which in turn enabled them to develop the ety. He learned botany, zoology, mineralogy, medicine, laws of atmospheric motion. In Jefferson's era, when the and celestial navigation. There is nothing in the record, great majority of the population lived on farms, weather howeve1~ to suggest that he was instructed in meteorol­ was chiefly important for its effect on agriculture. Daily ogy. At first glance this seems surprising, since Philadel­ records of wind, temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, phia at the time was probably the nation's center for and other factors essential to the success or failure of crops weather studies. Many of its citizens kept weather diaries, served most needs and required no special instruments to and Jefferson himself had begun his own daily weather collect.7 notations in Philadelphia while serving in the Continen­ Lewis spent most of May and the early part of June of tal Congress (his first entry was dated July 4, 1776).5 One 1803 in Philadelphia. It was here that he probably obtained of the leading medical institutions at the time, Phila­ the three mercury thermometers carried by the Corps of delphia's College of Physicians, included in its charter the Discovery.8 The mercury thermometer was invented in importance of meteorological observations in linking dis­ 1742 by German physicist Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, who eases with weather, a connection already hypothesized by also gave his name to the familiar temperature scale (still Lewis's medical mentor, Dr. Benjamin Rush.6 used in the United States, although abandoned for the Meteorology was absent from Lewis's scientific train­ Celsius scale in most of the rest of the world). Historian ing because it wasn't yet truly a science. It would be many Donald Jackson speculates that the expedition's thermom­ decades before a network of weather stations, linked by eters were similar to those described by Jefferson in a let­ ter to a supplier of scientific instruments: "The kind pre­ This article has been adapted from a paper presented by the ferred is that on a lackered plate slid into a mahogany case author at the LCTHF's 2003 annual meeting in Philadelphia. The with a glass sliding cover, these being best on exposure to original version was published in the meeting transactions, 9 available on CD-ROM from the LCTHF Philadelphia Chapter the weather." (6010 Cannon Hill Rd., Fort Washington, PA 19034) for $12.75, In January of 1804, when the Corps of Discovery was postage and handling included.- Eo. in winter quarters at Camp River Dubois, Lewis con-

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 11 Map of North America showing Koppen climate classes and Lewis and Clark's outbound route BS: mid-latitude steppe; * BSk: mid-latitude steppe (semi-arid); BWk: mid-latitude desert (arid); BWh: subtropical desert (arid); * Cfa: humid subtropical (hot summer, no dry season); lphia * Cfb: marine west coast (mild throughout the year, no dry season, warm summer); Csa: Mediterranean (dry, hot summer); Csb- Csb: Mediterranean (dry, warm summer); * Dfa: humid continental (severe winter, no dry season, hot summer); * Dfb: humid continental (severe winter, no dry season, warm summer); * H: highland (cold climate due to elevation). *Asterisk indicates traversed by L&C Trail ducted an experiment to test the accuracy of what he called journal entry about the weather-heavy "fogg"- and on his "Ferenheit's Thermometer." (This was evidently his the 2nd he recorded his first thermometer readings, which preferred thermometer. One assumes that the other two showed both the air and water temperatures to be 76 de­ were also marked off on the Fahrenheit scale.) First he grees. These readings were presumably taken at mid-day, mixed water and snow and took the temperature of the after the morning air had warmed up. By contrast, on the mix, which would have been at or just above 32 degrees, foggy morning of September 3 he noted that the air tem­ the freezing point of water. Then he boiled some water perature was 63 degrees and the water temperature 75. 11 and took its temperature, which should have yielded a Lewis astutely observed a connection between the reading close to 212 degrees. (Lewis states that the boiling morning fog that so often blanketed the river and the dy­ point was marked on the thermometer, and we can as­ namics of air and water temperatures. "The Fog," he wrote, sume the same for the freezing point.) He found the ther­ "appears to owe it's orrigin to the difference of tempera­ mometer to read 11 degrees lower than it should. This ture between the air and water," the latter "being much rather surprising result calls into question the accuracy of warmer than the former." He also noted that the water the few temperatures recorded before the captains began retained more of the sun's heat during the night ("the water making systematic entries in the weather diary. Lewis being heated by the summer's sun dose not undergo so doesn't say whether he performed similar tests on the other rapid a change from the absence of the sun as the air"). As two thermometers. 10 a consequence, at sunrise, when the air is coolest, "the The barometer, invented in Italy in the 1640s, is an­ fogg is thickest and appears to rise from the face of the other instrument we associate with weather. It measures water like steem from boiling water." 12 air pressure by the rise and fall of a column of mercury in He was describing what meteorologists today, in fact, a vacuum inside a glass tube. Barometers were in wide use call steam or evaporation-mixing fog, which forms when by Lewis and Clark's day Qefferson owned one), and it cold air moves over warm water. His statements that wa­ was well known that atmospheric pressure correlates with ter retains heat longer than air and that the cliff erence in altitude and that a dropping barometer signals rain. Lewis temperatures generates fog are both correct. It takes a could surely have benefited from a device that told him, greater amount of energy to heat a given mass of water at least in an approximate way, his elevation above sea level than an equivalent mass of air. Conversely, once warmed, or that a storm might be approaching, yet there is no evi­ water cools more slowly. (Water's slowness to gain and dence that he even considered taking one on the expedi­ lose heat is known as thermal inertia.) Provided the water tion. Probably he did not because barometers were even is warmer than the unsaturated air above it, water will more fragile than thermometers. evaporate into the air. If the water-vapor content of the Departing Philadelphia, Lewis returned to Washing­ air increases to tl1e point of saturation, it condenses. The ton, D.C., to wrap up his affairs, and by mid-July he was result is fog. in Pittsburgh overseeing construction of the expedition's Later in his journey down the Ohio, Lewis stopped in keelboat. His expedition journal begins with the launch­ Louisville to pick up his co-commander, William Clark. ing of the keelboat and its start down the Ohio River on By December they had completed their recruiting for the August 31. The next day, September 1, he made his first expedition and were in winter quarters at Camp River

12- We Proceeded On November 2005 Dubois, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, near evated portions of the Rocky Mountains. St. Louis. On May 14, 1804, they headed up the Missouri. The fifth, Cfb, marine west coast, is characterized by The explorers spent the winter of 1804-05 at Fort Man­ mild temperatures throughout the year, including a warm dan, in present-day North Dakota, and the following (but not hot) summer, and no dry season. spring headed west on the Missouri, bound for its source If one thinks of the expedition as starting in Washing­ high in the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the Conti­ ton, D.C., then we can add a sixth zone: Cfa, humid sub­ nental Divide they descended the Columbia River and tropical, defined by hot summers and the lack of a dry wintered at Fort Clatsop, on the Pacific coast. In the pro­ season. Lewis's home state of Virginia and Clark's of Ken­ cess they passed through five climate zones. tucky fall within this zone, and Philadelphia is on the boundary between it and the Dfa zone (humid continen­ CLIMATE ZONES tal). These two zones would serve as climatic benchmarks Climate classification as we know it was developed about a as the captains proceeded west into a region that, climati­ century after Lewis and Clark. Among the most widely cally as well as geographically, was terra incognita. used is the Koppen system, which classifies climate based O n the cloudy, rainy afternoon of May 14, 1804, the on temperature, precipitation, and the distribution of veg­ Corps of Discovery left Camp River Dubois and began its etation. 13 The illustration on page 12 (opposite) shows the ascent of the Missouri River. The party traveled through expedition's outbound route superimposed on a map of cli­ the heart of the Dfa zone (humid continental, with hot sum­ mate zones in the Koppen system. The boundaries between mers) during July and August, the months of severest heat. zones are transitional in nature, and the demarcation from Clark marveled at the sheer amount of sweat that poured one zone to another is generally less abrupt than the map out of the men as they rowed, poled, and towed the might suggest. Due to climate change, today's boundaries expedition's boats against the relentless current-more than are almost certainly different from those of 1803-06. he imagined the human body could excrete: "Those men The first and second zones traversed by the explorers, that do not work at all will wet a Shirt in a Few minits," he Dfa and Dfb, are humid continental, a designation that wrote, while for "those who work, the Swee will nm off in takes in the Missouri River from St. Louis to eastern Mon­ Streams." 14 The journals frequently remark on the weather's tana. These two zones are characterized by severe win­ capriciousness: oppressive humidity might be followed by ters, no dry seasons, and summers either hot (Dfa) or warm dry air carried on northern winds; torrential downpours (Dfb) . Along the Lewis and Clark Trail the boundary be­ and high winds by calm; and dense fog by sunshine. tween these zones corresponds to the border between On July 14, Clark described the sky suddenly darken­ South and N orth Dakota. ing under "a blak & dismal looking Cloud." Moments The third, BSk, mid-latitude steppe, represents the semi­ later, a violent wind raced across the plains and struck the arid environment of the High Plains. keelboat nearly broadside. The keelboat would have been The fourth, H, highland, is restricted to the more el- "dashed to peces in an Instant" against an island but for Lewis &Clark's weather diary, January 1-5, 1805 Th er. Thert. Ri ver Day of at 0 Wind at at 4 Wind at raise the Month nsc Weather O rise P.M. Weather 4 P.M. or fall Feet Inches

Jany. 1 18 a SE 34 a f NW r 1 2 4b s NW 8b fa s N. 3 14 b. c N. 4b s S E 4 28 a ca s w. 4b c NW r 2 'h s 20 b c N. W. 18 b N. E. r 2 The table above shows the first fi ve days of the captains' weather diary for January 1805, when the expedition was at Fort Mandan. T he symbol 0 denotes sunrise. The letters a and b in the temperature column jndicate above and below zero, respectively. Temperature is in degrees Fahrenheit. Lewis and C lark defined their abbreviations at the end of January 1804, when the they first began keeping the weather diary: s =sunny, c = cloudy, a = after (c a s means cloudy after sunshine),f= fair. In the river column, r and f indicate the rise or fall of water level in the last 24 hours, measured at suorjse. (Moulton, Vol. 2, pp. 168-169.)

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 13 the quick action of the men, who jumped into the water and pushed against the leeward side, holding her steady until the storm passed.15 On Jul y 29, near the border of present-day Iowa and Nebraska, Lewis noted the destruction caused by an ap­ parent tornado: "passed much fallen timber apparently the ravages of a dreadful haricane which had passed obliquely across the river from N.W. to S.E. about twelve months since." Trees with trunks four feet in diameter "were bro­ ken off near the ground." 16 The explorers entered present-day North Dakota in mid-October, and by the end of the month had reached the Mandan and Hidatsa villages. In early November they began construction of Fort Mandan. They were now in climate zone Dfb (humid continental, warm summers), and in a part of it especially notorious for its severe win­ ters. Frigid arctic air masses often descend on North Da­ kota, producing blizzards and some of the coldest tem­ peratures in the contiguous United States. A typical winter day at Fort Mandan, with temperatures near zero. As they had done since Camp River Dubois, the cap­ tains continued to make daily entries in their weather di­ owing to differences in the respective microclimates, the ary, which represents the first long-term, systematic tabu­ unknown manner in which the temperatures were re­ lation of weather data west of the Mississippi. The diary corded at Fort Mandan, and the possible inaccuracies in included tables similar to ones used by Jefferson for his the captains' thermometers. Suffice to say it was cold. own weather recordings, with spaces for temperature, wind Frostbite was a frequent problem, and on some subzero direction, and state of the river. (See bottom of page 13 for nights the guard had to be changed every half hour. an example.) Temperature and wind direction were recorded In early April, after the ice had broken up on the Mis­ twice daily, at sunrise and four o'clock, which Jefferson souri, the explorers loaded their boats and proceeded up believed to be the coolest and warmest times of the day. 17 the Missouri. They soon entered present-day Montana and The weather diary reveals the punishing conditions at the steppe climate (BSk in the Koppen classification) of the Fort Mandan. The average temperatures for December, Northern Plains, an arid region whose summers are char­ January, and February were 4, 3, and 11 degrees above acterized by heat and drenching thunderstorms accompa­ zero, respectively. The average of all temperature readings nied by dangerous wind, lightning, and hail. Flash floods (morning and afternoon) during this three-month period like the one that nearly drowned Clark are common. 19 was 4 degrees; morning temperatures averaged minus 11 . On May 30, as the expedition entered the White Cliffs On new year's day the thermometer started out at a rela­ a1·ea of the Missouri, Lewis noted tively moderate 18 above and by 4 P.M. hovered at a balmy our near approach to a countrywhos climate differs 34--the month's only recording of a temperature above considerably from that in which we have been for freezing. In one ten-day stretch in January the temperature many months. the air of the open country is asstonishingly dry as well as pure. I found by sev­ at sunrise averaged 21 degrees below zero. On December eral experiments that a table spoon full of water ex­ 17 the thermometer plunged to minus 45, the coldest tem­ posed to the air in a saucer would avaporate [evapo­ perature recorded on the entire journey. rate] in 36 hours when the murcury did not stand The late Arlen Large compared temperatures re­ higher than the temperate point at the greatest heat J. of the day; my inkstand so frequently becoming dry corded at Fort Mandan for January through March with put me on this experiment. I also observed the well average temperatures at Bismarck (some 45 miles south­ seasoned case of my sextant shrunk considerably and east of the corps' encampment) for the same tl1ree-month the joints opened.20 period from 1951 to 1980. He determined that Fort Any precipitation that did occur came with a vengeance, Mandan's temperatures were colder by about 8 degrees. 18 like the storm onJune27, in the vicinity of the Great Falls. Such comparisons must be viewed with caution, however, The weather diary records how

14 - We Proceeded On November 2005 At 1 P M a black cloud which arose in the S W. came winds blowing off the ocean. Throughout the expedition, on accompanyed with a high wind and violent Thun­ Clark's habit was to begin his journal entries with a der and Lightning; ... for about 20 minutes during this storm hail fell of an innomus size driven with weather report. Now, for days at a stretch, his opening violence almost incredible, when they struck the remarks were a variation on the same dismal theme: "cold around they would bound to the hight of ten to 12 wet morning," "cloudy foggey morning," "hard rain all feet[.] . . . after the rain I measured and weighed the last night," "tremendious thunder Storm abt. 3 oClock many of these hail stones and fo und several weigh­ 26 ing 3 ozs. and measuring 7 inches in cirumference. 21 this morning," "Rained last night without intermission. " On November 22, "the wind increased to a Storm from After completing their portage of the Great Falls the the S.S.E. and blew with violence throwing the water of explorers continued upriver. In mid-August they crossed the river with emence waves out of its banks almost over­ the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass, located 7,373 feet whelming us in water, O! how horriable is the day."27 above sea level in today's southwestern Montana. They In early December the party established its winter quar­ had left the mid-latitude steppe and entered the highland ters at Fort Clatsop, on the Oregon side of the estuary. From climate zone of the Rockies (Koppen classification H ). now until the departure for home in late March of 1806 the H ere they found the Shoshone Indians, who provided conditions can be summarized in a single phrase: variable them with the horses needed to complete their journey and wet. OnJanu ary 1, Lewis observed, "the changes of the across the mountains. Led by a Shoshone guide, the ex­ weather are exceedingly suddon. sometimes tho' seldom the plorers crossed the Bitterroot Mountains not once but sun is visible for a few moments the next it hails & rains, twice-first at Lost Trail Pass (August 31-September 4) then ceases, and remains cloudy the wind blows and it again and later at Lolo Pass (September 11 -22). Both crossings rains." This could happen three or more times a day.28 took their toll. Cold and hungry, they threaded their way In his weather remarks for January 3 Lewis regretted along narrow ravines through densely wooded mountains. his inability, due to the lack of a thermometer, to know Horses slipped and fel l. While traversing Lost Trail Pass, the exact temperature: "I am confident that the climate is one mount took a tumble and broke the last of the much warmer than in the same parallel of Latitude on the expedition's three thermometers- "a great misfortune," Atlantic Ocean tho' how many degrees is now out of my Clark declared.22 The journals are silent on when and how power to determine." the other two were lost.23 Indeed, Fort Clatsop and Bangor, Maine, are at about The crossing of Lost Trail Pass was just a taste of what the same latitude, yet Fort Clatsop is characterized by mild awaited them in the deep snows of the Lolo Trail. O n Sep­ temperatures throughout the year, while Bangor has a se­ tember 16 it began snowing three hours before dawn and vere winter and a warm summer. At the time of the expedi­ continued throughout the day. Clark summed up tion the link between latitude and climate was well known. 29 everyone's feelings when he declared he had never been Less understood was the role of ocean temperatures and so wet and cold "in every part" of his body.24 currents, prevailing winds, and the contrasting temperatures Emerging at last from the dreadful mountains, the ex­ of land and sea in determining a region's climate. Water's plorers found the friendly Nez Perce Indians harvesting thermal inertia means that at a given latinide the tempera­ camas roots in an upland prairie in today's north-central ture of the ocean will be warmer in winter and cooler in Idaho. Climatically speaking, they had re-entered the mid­ summer than the temperature of a contiguous landmass. latitude steppe, a zone they would remain in while mak­ Ocean temperatures have a moderating effect on coastal u1g their way down the Clearwater and Snake rivers in land temperatures, particularly when the prevailing wind dugout canoes. On October 16 they reached the Colum­ is off the ocean, as it is in the Pacific Northwest. In the bia River. As they approached the Cascade Mountains, Northeast the prevailing wind comes off the land. The fact which create a rain barrier to the prevailing moisture-laden that ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest flow from the westerlies coming off the Pacific, the landscape became southwest further mitigates winter temperatures. It was wet notably drier. 25 at Fort Clatsop but never bitterly cold. West of the Cascades they entered the marine environ­ f ORT CLATSOP WINTER: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ment of the Pacific Northwest (Koppen zone Cfb). By early November they had reached the lower estuary of The exp edition sp ent 107 days at Fort Clatsop (Decem­ the Columbia River, a region whose late fall and winter ber 7-March 23). During that period there were 91 days climate is noted for rain, fog, and strong moisture-laden of precipitation, including 17 when it snowed. H alf of the

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 15 12 days without rain or snow were cloudy, leaving just 6 Left: Average days of precipitation (black) and days when the sun shone fair.Jo snowfall (gray) for Astoria, Oregon, December 8- Although prolonged periods of rainfall are common March 23, 1961-1999. Right: Days of precipitation and snowfall at Fort Clatsop, winter of 1805-1806. for the Pacific Northwest, one wonders to what extent (Precipitation includes rain and snow.) the extreme wetness experienced at Fort Clatsop may have 90 been atypical. A comparison between the captains' weather 80 (/) >. 70 observations and modern-day weather data for nearby Cll Astoria, Oregon, sheds light on this question.J1 .._0 60 0 so The top graph at right shows the number of days with ..... Q) 40 measurable precipitation and snow for Fort Clatsop and .0 E 30 2 :J Astoria.J The numbers for Astoria are based on a 38- z 20 year average, spanning 1961 through 1999. Astoria aver­ 10 aged 73 days of precipitation between December 8 and 0 March 23. The highest number of precipitation days for 1961-99 1805-06 this period was 88, which occurred during the winters Left: Average prevailing wind direction at of 1971-72 and 1974-75. The lowest number of precipi­ Astoria, December 8-March 23, 1985-1999. tation days was 50, which occurred during the winter of Left: Average prevailing wind direction at Fort Clatsop, winter of 1805-1806. 1984-85. The number of precipitation days measured by c 80 ..c.... .Q.... S-SW Lewis and Clark was 90. By today's standards, the num­ - ~ u Q) 60 ber of precipitation days for the winter of 1805-06 was (/)>. ·=O Cll -0 0 c abnormally high. 40 Lewis and Clark recorded 17 days of snowfall. This is b~,_ Q) Ol .0 .!:: more than five times Astoria's 3-day average and two days E = 20 :J Cll more than its 15-day maximum, which occurred during z ii;,_ the winter of 1968-69. So the number of snowy days for a.. 0 1985-99 1805-06 the winter of 1805-06 was also abnormal. The bottom graph compares wind direction. At Fort Clatsop during December the captains recorded wind di­ the wind is blowingfrom the southwest.) Astoria's obser­ rection only once a day, although it's unclear at what time. vations for wind direction, which begin in 1985, are aver­ From January th.rough their departure in late March they aged for fourteen years (1985-99) and, consistent with recorded wind direction twice a day, at sunrise and at four Lewis and Clark's observations, are assigned the same eight o'clock. The location and manner in which they made their compass headings. To simplify the comparisons, the wind observations is unknown. Did they estimate wind di.rec­ data for both Fort Clatsop and Astoria were grouped E­ tion from within the fort or within the forest canopy? Did SE, S-SW, W-Nw, and N -NE. The E-SE and S-SW group­ they base their estimates on the surface wind, which is ings contain the most entries and are therefore deemed often turbulent, particularly within forest canopies, or on the prevailing wind directions. the wind direction just above the forest canopy? Despite The bottom graph shows the two prevailing wind di­ these uncertainties, two factors provide confidence that rections, E-SE and S-SW, for Fort C latsop and present­ Lewis and Clark's wind direction observations were ac­ day Astoria. The differences in the prevailing winds be­ curate. First, they made a large number of wind observa­ tween the winter of 1805-06 and present-day averaged tions, which would reduce random error. Second, because conditions are dramatic. At Astoria the E-SE winds are they were extraordinarily accurate in their descriptions about a third more frequent than the S-SW winds. In sharp of flora and fauna, we can reasonably assume they were contrast, at Fort Clatsop the S-SW winds were about four equally careful in their weather observations. times as frequent as the E-SE winds. The persistence of S­ The wind directions recorded by Lewis and Clark were SW winds was noted by Lewis on January l: "the wind compared with those of Astoria. Lewis and Clark's ob­ blows by squalls most generally and is almost invariably servations are based on the eight standard compass head­ fromS. W"33 ings. (A given compass heading indicates the direction An approximate relationship between wind and air from which the wind is blowing. A southwest wind means pressure was formulated by the 19th-century Dutch me-

16 - We Proceeded On November 2005 ------

teorologist Christoph Buys-Ballot. This relationship is and Clark's wet, cold winter may have coincided with a now called Buys-Ballot's law. The law states that in the La Nina year. Northern Hemisphere, if we stand with our backs to the LEWIS & CLARK'S METEOROLOGICAL LEGACY wind, lower pressure will be on our left and higher pres­ sure on our right. Thus, if the wind is from the south, More than two hundred years ago, in his Notes on the lower pressure will be to the west and higher pressure to State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson commented on the the east. Buys-Ballot's law can therefore provide qualita­ climate change he had noticed in his lifetime. Both heat tive information about the location and movement of the and cold, he wrote, "are become much more moderate high- and low-pressure systems that characterize mid-lati­ within the memory even of the middle-aged. Snows are tude weather. Simply put, Lewis and Clark's wind obser­ less frequent and less deep . . .. The elderly inform me the vations offer clues to the position of the northern Pacific earth used to be covered about three months in every storm track during the winter of 1805-06. year." 35 Application of Buys-Ballot's law to the prevailing wind Jefferson's words, written near the end of the Little Ice directions, as depicted in the bottom graph, yields three Age, resonate today with our concerns about global warm­ conclusions. First is that during the winter of 1805-06 the ing. His evidence for climate change was mainly anecdotal, low-pressure systems, and by implication the storm track, while ours is based on long-term global observations and were predominantly W-NW. Second, the 1805-06 storm sophisticated computer models of the atmosphere. The track was persistent; low-pressme W-NW systems were reliability of such models for predicting future climate about four times more common than S-SW ones. Third, change is determined in part by their ability to sinmlate the position of the 1805-06 storm track was dramatically past climate change. That ability in turn depends on what different from its present-day averaged position, which is scientists call "proxy data" derived from tree rings, ice predominantly S-SW. cores, and weather diaries like those kept by Jefferson at Based on comparisons with averaged conditions for Monticello and Lewis and Clark on the trail. present-day Astoria, the winter of 1805-06 at Fort Clat­ Further analysis of the captains' weather observations sop was atypical. The frequency of rain and snow and can shed additional light on the underlying reasons for the persistent southwesterly winds were all dramatically the anomalous conditions they experienced at Fort Man­ different from today. This may be no more than a statis­ dan and later at Fort Clatsop. Their data have helped show tical fluke. The position of the storm track within a given us that the winter at Fort Clatsop was exceptional. But year or between given years can be markedly different was that due to changes in atmospheric circulation in the from its long-term averaged position. This intraseasonal closing decades of the Little Ice Age, or was 1805-06 sim­ and interannual variability can result from fluctuations ply a one-year "blip" due to La Niiia or some other fac­ natural to a thermally driven, rotating stratified fluid such tor? The answer may lie in the Lewis and Clark journals.36 as the atmosphere. O ne should also bear in mind that the early 19th cen­ Terry Nathan ([email protected]) teaches atmospheric tury was at the tail end of the so-called Little Ice Age, a science at the University of California, Davis. His research roughly 350-year period of relatively cool, wet conditions for this article was supported in part by a grant from the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. in northern latitudes, and the transition out of it may have been marked by wider year-to-year variations from the NOTES climatic norm.H 1 Gary E. Moulton, ed., The journals ofthe Lewis & Clark Ex­ It is also possible that some external process, such as pedition, 13 volumes (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, the anomalous warming or cooling that takes place in the 1983-2001), Vol. 4, pp. 340-341. equatorial eastern Pacific during El Nino or La Nina 2 Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 169 and 171n, and Vol. 8, p. 373. events, may have been at work. Except for the change of 3 Donald Jackson, ed., Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedi­ seasons, nothing has more impact on global atmospheric tion with Related Documents, 1783-1854, 2nd edition, 1978 (Ur­ bana: U niversity of Illinois Press, 1968), Vol. 1, p. 63. circulation. During La Nina, the Pacific storm track is 4 Ibid., p. 12. displaced north, resulting in above-normal precipitation 5 and below-normal temperatures for the Pacific Northwest, Dumas Malone, Jefferson and His Time, 6 volumes (Boston: Little, Brown, 1948-1981) , Vol. 6, pp. 50-51. Philadelphia's lead­ a situation consistent with the weather at Fort Clatsop. ing scientist, Benjamin Franklin, kept a weather diary. He also The author is currently testing the hypothesis that Lewis conducted seminal experiments on lightning (determining it to

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 17 be a form of electricity) and planted the intellectual seeds that 20 Moulton, Vol. 4, p. 221. It's not entirely clear what tempera­ eventually led to theories on the circulation of coastal storms, ture Lewis means by "temperate point," but it's presumably no the connection between heated air and small-scale vortices such higher than 80 degrees. The afternoon temperature readings for as waterspouts, and equator-to-pole atmospheric circulation; May 28-30 were 72, 67, and 50 degrees. Clark had conducted a James R. Fleming, Meteorology in America, 1800-1870 (Balti­ similar experiment on September 23, 1804, when the expedition more: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990), p. 7. Excerpts was in South Dakota. He found that over 36 hours two spoon­ from Philadelphia weather diaries can be found in David M. fuls of water evaporated in a saucer. The corresponding after­ Ludlum, Early American Winters 1604-1820 (Boston: Ameri- noon temperatures were a bit higher-82, 86, and 82 degrees. can Meteorological Society, 1966). · Moulton, Vol. 3, p. 131. 6 Brook Hindle, The Pursuit ofScience in Revolutionary America, 21 Ibid., p. 348. 1735-1789 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 22 Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 186. 1956), p. 296; Benjamin Rush, "Account of the Climate of Penn­ 23 sylvania, and Its Influence upon the Human Body," American Clark's lament about the broken thermometer is found in his Museum, 1789, Vol. 4, p. 26. entry for September 3. This is curious, because the last tem­ perature readings recorded in the weather diary (17 degrees in 7 The telegraph came into widespread use in the 1840s. The the morning and 29 degrees in the afternoon) are for September theory of air masses and weather fronts began to emerge around 5. The diary remarks that on the 6th, the thermometer "broke 1920'. by the Box strikeing against a tree." (Moulton, Vol. 5, p. 241.) It 8 Pre-Fahrenheit thermometers relied on the rise and fall of al­ is possible that Clark wrote his journal entries for this period cohol, rather than mercury, in a column of glass. Thermometers afte.r the fact and misremembered the date the accident occurred. were included in Lewis's list of needed equipment, but they do In his journal entry for the 3rd Clark describes a day that went not appear on any list of items purchased in Philadelphia or else­ from snow to rain to bitter sleet. The weather diary records con­ where. Jackson believes they were probably obtained in Phila­ ditions on both the 3rd and the 6th as cold and rainy but makes delphia and is skeptical of a tradition that St. Louis physician no mention of snow. Antoine Saugrain supplied them to the Corps of Discovery. Jack­ 24 Moulton, Vol. 5, p. 209. son, Vol. 1, pp. 69 and 75n; Moulton, Vol. 2, pp. 146-147n. 25 The higher elevations of the Cascades fall within the highland 9 Jackson, Vol. 1, p. 7511. (H) climate zone. As the Columbia cuts through the Cascades 10 Moulton, Vol. 2, p. 169. The entry is at the beginning of the on its way to the sea its valley transitions directly from steppe weather diary. It reads, "By two experiments made with to marine zones. Ferenheit's Thermometer which I used in these observations, I 26 Moulton, Vol. 6, pp. 25, 31 , 41, 42, and 46. Entries for No­ ascertained it's error to be 11° too low or additive + - I tested it vember 6, 7, 11, 12, and 14. with water and snow mixed for the friezing point, and boiling water for - the point marked boiling water." 27 Ibid., p. 79. 11 Ibid., pp. 67-70. Lewis made subsequent mention of the air 28 Lewis's entry says "two three or more times half a day." Clark's and water temperatures on September 4, 6, 7, and 16. nearly identical comments omit the word "half." Ibid., p. 259 and 262n. 12 Ibid., p. 67. Entry for September 1, 1803. 29 13 The system was developed in the early 20th century by the The ancient Greeks were among the first to note this. The meteorologist and geographer Vladimir Koppen (1846-1940). word climate derives from klima, their word for inclination, which in this context means the angle of the sun above the 14 Moulton, Vol. 2, p. 352. Entry for July 6, 1804, near the present­ horizon. day Kansas-Missouri border. The first part of the entry reads, 30 "a verry warm day (worthy of remark that the water of this December 7 and March 23 were partial days. river or Some other Cause, I think that the most Probable throws 31 Some caveats are in order. Although Fort Clatsop and Astoria out a greater preposn. [proportion] of Swet than I could Sup­ are only five miles apart, differences due to terrain and vegeta­ pose pass thro: [through] the humane body." tion may exist in their respective microclimates. It also is un­ 15 Ibid., pp. 376-378. clear if Lewis and Clark's definition of" rain" distinguished be­ tween light rainfall and the droplets that condense in the forest 16 Ibid., p. 426. canopy and fall to the ground. 17 Thomas Jefferson (W. Peden, ed.), Notes on the State of Vir­ 32 Trace amounts of rain were excluded from the tally. ginia (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina press, 1955), 33 p. 78. Original work published in 1785. Moulton, Vol. 6, p. 259. 34 18 Arlen J. Large, " ' .. . It Thundered and Lightened': The The Little Ice Age began about 1500 and ended about 1850. Weather Observations of Lewis and Clark," We Proceeded On, Portions of the North Atlantic froze and mountain glaciers May 1986, p. 8. expanded. 3 19 It is also a region where in summer potential evapotranspira­ ; Jefferson, p. 80. tion exceeds precipitation. Potential evapotranspiration is de­ 36 The author thanks LCTHF members Ludd Trozpek and the fined as the quantity of moisture, if it were available, that would late Bob Shattuck for their encouragement to pursue this work. be removed from a given land area by evaporation and transpi­ Thanks are also due Laura Concannon, Professor Eugene Cor­ ration, the process by which water contained in plants is trans­ dero, Dr. Steve Grattan, and Dan Hodyss for discussions re­ ferred to the atmosphere as water vapor. garding this work.

18 - We Proceeded On November 2005 ,, ,e CHARLES FRITZ: OUR BOATS, GRIPPED IN ICE The keelboat and two pi rogues were locked in the Missouri's ice for most of the winter at Fort Mandan. FORECAST: VARIABLE

A weather sampler on the Lewis and Clark Trail

B Y V ERNON PRESTON

APRIL 1, 1804: NORTHERN LIGHTS red." 1 The explorers would witness this atmospheric display twice more, both times at Fort Mandan-on In the early spring of 1804, the Corps of Discovery was November 6, 1804, and August 16, 1806. nearing the end of its winter at Camp River Dubois before departing for the West. The days were warming JUNE 30, 1804: THE HOTTEST DAY and the spicewood was beginning to bloom. It must Lewis and Clark experienced many hot days on the have been surprising to see, in the late evening of April Missouri River. Their journals and weather diary 1, a display of Aurora borealis, a phenomenon associ­ record the hottest day of the expedition as June 30, ated with cold winter nights and latitudes higher than 1804, when the afternoon temperature peaked at 96 southern Illinois. Clark noted that these northern lights degrees. The explorers were approaching the site of frequently changed color but in the main were "verry present-day Leavenworth, Kansas. Clark noted that

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 19 the sun "being hot the men becom verry feeble. "2 which proceeded from a Direction a little to the N . of West, as loud and resembling precisely the discharge of J ULY 29, 1804: T ORNADO'S AFTERMATH a piece of ordinance of 6 pounds at the distance of 5 or North of present-day Omaha, Clark reported "much six miles."7 It became a familiar sound during the fallen timber apparently the ravages of a dreadful explorers' monthlong stay on this part of the river. haricane which had passed obliquely across the river Mostly it occurred on days with clear skies and calm from N.W. to S.E. about twelve months since. many winds. Clark surmised that the mysterious booming trees were broken off near the ground the trunks of might be caused by water running th.rough subterra­ which were sound and four feet in diameter. "3 The nean caverns. Today, some speculate that the cause was devastation most likely resulted from a tornado-or "atmospheric ducting," which in dry climes can carry perhaps a Derecho, a severe straight-line windstorm in the sound of distant thunder over long distances. which tornadoes are sometimes imbedded. Others point to possible shifts in the area's loose, sandy soils. Such sounds are still heard in the vicinity D ECEMBER 17, 1804: THE COLDEST DAY of the Great Falls. 8 Exposed to frigid air masses blasting down from the JUNE 24, 1805: DRY-LAND SAILING Arctic, the North Dakota plains are notorious for their brutally cold winters. On dry, clear nights with no Some of the men were struggling to haul one of the cloud cover to retain the earth's heat, temperatures can dugout canoes overland between the Lower and Upper plunge far below freezing. On the morning of Decem­ Portage camps when someone had the bright idea of ber 17, 1804, at Fort Mandan the temperature sank to harnessing the wind. Private Joseph Whitehouse noted, minus 45, the lowest recorded on the expedition.4 The "the wind blew steady from the S. East we hoisted a Sail cold kept hunters inside the fort and the expedition's in the largest canoe which helped us much as 4 men boats in the grip of the Missouri's ice for most of the hailing at the chord with a harness."9 Sergeant John winter. Realizing the spring breakup of ice could Ordway declared tlus odd mode of transportation seriously damage the keelboat and pirogues, the men "Saleing on dry land in everry Since of the word." 10 worked mightily to free them with axes, pikes, and J UNE 27, 1805: B ARRAGE OF HAILSTONES heated rocks. Clark reported that the task was accom­ plished with "great Dificuelty" in late February.5 The portage party was moving canoes and equipment when a severe thunderstorm rolled in. The men were APRIL 20-MA.Y 14, 1805: ILL WINDS OF SPRING pummeled by hailstones the size of "a pigion's egg," After departing Fort Mandan, the Pacific-bound explor­ noted Clark. The stones covered the ground to a depth ers continued their ascent of the Missouri, struggling of an inch and a half, and some of the stones bounced 10 against both wind and current. Often the wind came up feet after hitting. One stone measured seven inches in early and was blowing so hard by nine o'clock it forced circumference and weighed three ounces. Men sought them off the river until late afternoon. Dust rose in shelter under the canoes or covered their heads with immense colum11S visible for miles, and sand blew off anything handy; several wound up bruised and blood­ bars and beaches and into the eyes of the men. So ied. Clark swore that if one of the bigger stones "had "penitrating is this sand," wrote Lewis, "that we cannot struck a man on the neaked head it would have knocked keep any article free from it; in short we are compelled him down, if not fractured his skull. " 11 to eat, drink, and breath it very freely. "6 If the wind was J UNE 29, 1805: FLASH FLOOD right, they could take advantage of it by hoisting sails, but not without risk. On May 14, a gust nearly capsized One of the scariest episodes of the journey took place the white pirogue. Articles vital to the expedition, during the portage around the Great Falls. On June 29 including medicine and some of the journals, spilled the party was split: Lewis was touring the big springs, into the river but were rescued by Sacagawea. men were hauling canoes on the 18-mile portage route, and Clark was on the north bank of the Missouri just JUNE 20, 1805: B OOMING SKIES above the falls with Charbonneau, Sacagawea, and their While portaging around the Great Falls of the Missouri, infant son, Jean-Baptiste. When a thunderstorm rolled Clark and the men in his party "repeatedly heard a nois in they sought shelter in a ravine. "Soon after," wrote

20 - We Proceeded On November 2005 Clark, "a torrent of rain and hail fell more violent than tain us, our Baggage in a Small holler about 1/2 mile ever I Saw before, the rain fell like one voley of water from us, and Canoes at the mercy of the waves & drift falling from the heavens and gave us time only to get wood. "14 Later they crossed to the south shore and built out of the way of a torrent of water which was Poreing Fort Clatsop. "Disagreeable weather" became the down the hill in the rivin with emence force." Clark journals' most oft-repeated phrase. On April 8, as the and his companions scrambled to high ground just in explorers were heading back up the Columbia, Patrick time as a flash flood "turrouble to behold" filled the Gass ruefully noted that from November 4 through ravine to a depth of 15 feet. 12 March 25, "there were not more than twelve days in which it did not rain, and of these but six were clear." 15

J UNE 15-30, 1806: THE BITTERROOTS AGAIN The explorers departed Fort Clatsop on March 23, 1806, and by early May were back among the Nez Perces and in sight of the Bitterroots. They waited for more than a month for the snows to melt before attempting a crossing of what Lewis called "that icy barier which seperates me from my friends and Country, from all which makes life esteemable." Encouraged by the swelling Clearwater River-"no doubt ... attributeable to the [melting] snows of the mountains"-th ey set out on June 15 but were soon defeated by snow up to 18 feet deep. 16 On the 17th they retreated to Weippe Prairie. A Clark and the Charbonneaus escape the Missouri's raging waters. week later they proceeded on, and with the help of Nez Perce guides successfully traversed the Lolo Trail. SEPTEMBER 16, 1805: BAD DAY IN THE BITTERROOTS J ULY 21, 1806: STORM CHASER'S DREAM The 10-day crossing of the rugged Bitterroot Mountains on the Lolo Trail (September 11-20, 1805) pushed the At Traveler's Rest the party split up, Lewis to explore explorers to their limits. Game was scarce and they the Marias River and Clark to descend the Yellowstone lacked warm clothing. O n September 14 it snowed. Two River. Late in the sultry evening of July 21, Clark was days later they were hit by a storm that lasted most of near present-day Park City, Montana, when he spotted the day and dumped an additional six to eight inches, "a very black Cloud" crackling with thunder and obliterating the trail and reducing visibility to a few lightning and generating hard, shifting winds. 17 Clark's hundred feet. Some of the men wrapped their feet in account may be the first "spotter report" in the West of rags to stave off the bitter cold. "I have been wet and as a wall cloud, a formation that often spawns tornadoes. cold in every part as I ever was in my life," wrote Clark, JuLY 22- 26, 1806: DAYS ON THE MARIAs "indeed I was at one time fearfull my feet would freeze DARK in the thin mockersons which I wore."13 On the 20th Lewis and his small party, meanwhile, had reached the Clark's advance party reached Weippe Prairie and was upper Marias and were encamped west of present-day befriended by the Nez Perce Indians. Cut Bank, Montana. The weather was unseasonably overcast and wet. They spent four days at Camp Disap­ NOVEMBER 1805-MARCH 1806: WETTEST WINTER pointment waiting for the fair weather needed to take a Lewis and Clark's winter in the Pacific Northwest was celestial fix of their position. In his journal entry for wet and miserable. After their arrival on the Columbia July 25, Lewis wrote, "I remained in camp with R. estuary they were pounded by coastal storms that Fields to avail myself of every opportunity to make my pinned them to the north shore. Clothes rotted in the observations should any offer, but it continued to rain unremitting rain. Lamented Clark on November 12, "It and I did not see the sun through the whole course of would be distressing to a feeling person to See our the day." 18 The next day, with clouds still covering the Situation at this time all wet and cold with our bedding sky, they gave up and set out for home. They soon &c. also wet, in a Cove Scercely large enough to Con- encountered a party of hostile Blackfeet Indians on

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 21 R.L. Rickard's painting shows the Corps of Discovery pinned down by rain, wind, and surging tide near the mouth of the Columbia on November 10, 1805. The explorers' arrival on the Pacific coast coincided with the start of the winter storm season.

today's Two Medicine River. The resulting skirmish, 2 Ibid., p. 168. which left at least one of the Indians dead and the 3 Ibid., p. 426. This is Clark's journal entry, but the paragraph explorers fleeing for their lives across the plains, would quoted appears to be in Lewis's hand (Ibid., p. 428n). probably never have occurred except for the weather­ 4 The captains' weather diary records the temperature at sunrise induced delay at Camp Disappointment. as minus 43; Clark recorded it as minus 45 in a section of his journal used to back up data entered in the diary. Moulton, Vol. SEPTEMBER 9, 1806: HOT AND HUMID AGAIN 3, pp. 264 and 266n. 5 Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 303. Entry for February 26, 1805. The reunited explorers stopped briefly at the Mandan 6 Ibid., Vol. 4, p. 65. Entry for April 24, 1805. villages, then made a swift descent of the Missouri. By 7 Ibid., p. 320. Virtually the same passage appears in Lewis's en­ early September they were just a few weeks from St. try for July 4 (Ibid., p. 361). Louis and back in the familiar wet, wooded landscape of 8 Information derived from conversations with David Bernhardt, the lower river. The climate, wrote Clark on September scientific operations officer in the Great Falls, Montana, office 9, "is every day preceptably wormer and air more of the National Weather Service, and with LCTHF member Sultery than I have experienced for a long time. "19 The Donald Peterson. nights were now warm enough for Clark to sleep under 9 Ibid., Vol. 11 , p. 210. a single thin blanket, while just a few days before he had 10 Ibid., Vol. 9, p. 174. needed two. 11 Ibid., Vol. 4, p. 348. 12 Ibid., pp. 342-343. York was also in the party, but he did not Vernon Preston is a meteorologist for the National Weather go into the ravine. Service in Pocatello, Idaho. He is working on a book about 13 Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 209. weather and the expedition. 14 Ibid., Vol. 6, p. 42. 15 Ibid., Vol. 10, p. 207. NOTES 16 1 Gary E. Moulton, ed., The journals of the Lewis & Clark Ex­ Ibid., Vol. 7, p. 266. Entry for May 17, 1806. pedition, 13 volumes (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 17 Ibid., Vol. 8, p. 210. 1983-2001), Vol. 2, p. 208. All quotations or references to jour­ 18 Ibid., p. 127. nal entries in the ensuing text are from Moulton, by date, unless otherwise indicated. 19 Ibid., p. 354.

22 - We Proceeded On November 2005 THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY'S ''RETROGRADE MANEUVERS''

"We proceeded on" may be the journals' most common refrain, but there were days when prudence called for tactical retreat

BY H . CARL CAMP

s a rule, commanders of military expeditions And a setback it was, though only temporary. Another with clearly defined objectives are loath to or­ five days were to pass before they caught a break in the A der a retreat ("retrograde maneuver" in military­ weather and were able to round the point.3 They then es­ speak) unless there are compelling reasons to do so. Cap­ tablished Station Camp on the Washington shore of the tains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were no ex­ estuary. ception as they led their expedition across the continent But, contrary to Ziak's assertion, this was not the "first and back. And yet retreat they did from time to time-­ time" the captains had confronted conditions that resulted usually as a consequence of opposing natural forces rather in a tactical retreat, a "retrograde maneuver." Nor would than human adversaries. it be the last, as we shall presently see. In a selection adapted from his book, In Full View, (WPO, As one looks further into the record, the plot thickens. May 2005), Rex Ziak cites one such instance w hen the There were, in fact, several other occasions when the Corps Corps of D iscovery retreated from an advanced, and ex­ of Discovery retreated from advanced positions it had at­ posed, position upon its arrival on the Pacific coast. 1 As tained only after the expenditure of enormous effort and the travel-weary, but elated, the explorers neared Point energy. These other incidents occurred both on the west­ Ellice at the mouth of the Columbia River, the waters of ward journey and the return home. the estuary were pitching and churning in the throes of a For example, early in the journey the explorers were violent storm. Their heavily laden and cumbersome dug­ only a few days out of St. Charles when, according to out canoes were no match for the unleashed forces of na­ Clark, they entered a stretch of the Missouri River known ture. (Nor was the more seaworthy Indian canoe they had as "the D eavels race ground." It was filled with project­ acquired earlier as they descended the river.) Assessing ing rocks, collapsing riverbanks, uprooted trees, shifting the perils after several unsuccessful attempts to round the sandbars, and swift currents. The keelboat foundered on a point, the captains chose the path of caution. Rather than sandbar. The tow rope broke. Then the boat w heeled and keep plunging headlong into the maelstrom, they with­ turned end-to-end-three times- as it was swept down­ drew upriver, about two miles according to Clark, to a stream, almost capsizing in the process. Only by the con­ less exposed position. In Ziak's words: certed exertions of the entire crew was the vessel finally Wisely, and for the first time since leaving St. Louis brought under control. Clark laconically describes the per­ eighteen months before, Lewis and Clark ordered ilous event this way: the party to turn around. The men [Sacagawea and Pomp, too] retreated upriver to a small cove they We returned to the Island where we [had] Set out ... . had passed moments earlier. They unloaded the ca­ This place I call the Retragrade bend as we were 4 noes and built large fires. There was nothing to do obliged to fall back 2 miles. but wait. The pouring rain underscored the misery of this unexpected setback.2 While it is true the keelboat was driven back only a few

November 2005 We Proceeded On ~ 23 miles, those were hard-won miles. The terminology Clark chose at the time \ to chronicle this incident reveals that he considered it a setback- a retro­ grade maneuver forced on the Corps of Discovery by the unruly Missouri. But a short time later, on June 5, 1804, Clark sparingly describes an­ other incident that suggests a retro­ grade maneuver as well. In his words: Passed a Small Creek on L.S. [lar­ board side] opposit a Verry bad Sand bar of Several ms. [miles] in extent, which we named Sand C[reek] ... .we passed up for 2 ms. on the L.S. of this Sand [bar? Creek?] and was obliged to return the water uncertain the quick Sand Moveing.5 ·nus nurumalist description is some- what ambiguous; however, it appears the explorers tried one approach for two miles as they attempted to pass a difficult stretch of water but found the situation untenable. They had to retreat and find a more accommodating chan­ nel up the river. Under somewhat dif­ ferent circumstances, the party was once again forced to backtrack about two miles before proceeding on. This next example is offered not to illustrate a tactical retreat but to docu­ ment the lengths to which the expedi­ tion would go to avoid a retrograde maneuver. Shortly after departing the Arikara villages, Clark made this jour- nal entry on October 6, 1804: Early in the journey the keel boat foundered on a sandbar, forcing the first of at least five retreats.

Found the river Shole we made Sever!. attempts to maneuver after it arrived at the Mandan and Hidatsa vil­ find the main Channel between the Sand bars, and lages, near the junction of the Knife River with the Mis­ was obliged at length to D rag the boat over to Save a league [approximately three miles] which we must souri. Over a period of several days the captains held coun­ return to get into the deepest Channel, we have been cils with chiefs of the various villages. Having arrived at obgd [obliged] to hunt a Chanl. for Some time past last at the location of the lower Hidatsa villages, several the river being devided in many places in a great miles upriver from the Mandans, they began searching for number of Chanels.6 a suitable place to build their winter quarters. C lark's re­ Hence, in order to avoid having to retreat three miles connaissance of the area revealed a shortage of sufficient or so, the keelboat crew was willing to drag the heavily timber to build the structures needed to survive the Great laden vessel an unspecified distance over sandbars until Plains winter. Lewis describes their next move: the main channel was reached. Retreat, it seems, was not The wind blew so violently during the greater part an acceptable option in this instance. of the day that we were unable to quit our encamp­ The Corps of Discovery next engaged in a retrograde ment; in the evening it abated;- we Droped down

24 - We Proceeded On November 2005 about seven miles and land[ed] on N.E. side of the Set straight by Drouillard, Clark's party had to retrace river at a large point of Woodland.7 those nine arduous miles in order to get on the right stream. This tactical retreat of seven miles led to the site of the The men were tired, cold, footsore, and dispirited since future Fort Mandan, located below and on the opposite they were in the icy water much of the time dragging the side of the Missouri from the lower Mandan village of waterlogged canoes through swift, rock-strewn shallows. Mitutanka. As in previous examples, this backtracking The retreat was no easier than the previous day's ascent. maneuver was dictated by natural constraints they could Several of the vessels overturned or were swamped, wet­ not ignore: (1) onset of the harsh Great Plains winter was ting supplies and trade goods and leading to the loss of imminent; (2) the party's smvival depended on acquiring several valuable items. One of the heavy canoes, out of quarters more substantial than canvas tents; (3) the ad­ control, swept over Joseph Whitehouse, who had lost his vanced position upriver at the Hidatsa villages did not offer footing in the treacherous water. Scraped and bruised, he sufficient timber to build adequate shelters; and (4) the severely injured a leg but managed to escape with his life. 10 downriver location had the requisite supply of timber. This was not your textbook example of an orderly retro­ Generally averse to yielding hard-won miles, the captains grade maneuver. One can understand if C lark wished to and their men saw the wisdom of "giving ground" under forget the incident ever happened; he appeared to do just the circumstances. that, as we shall see in a journal entry from much later in The most graphic example of a retreat by the Corps of the journey. Discovery on the westward leg of the journey occurred Up to this point, the explorers had encountered condi­ as the expedition approached the Continental Divide and tions on four occasions that required them to backtrack Shoshone country. Commencing on August 1, 1805, Lewis from advanced positions. All occurred on the westward and several men (George Drouillard, Patrick Gass, and journey, before they reached the Pacific coast. The forced Toussaint Charbonneau) were scouting ahead of the main retreat at Point Ellice (cited above from Ziak's book) was party in hopes of making contact with Sacagawea's people. the fifth such event, not the first. While it is true that Ziak The channel of the Jefferson River soon split into several confines his assertion to the first 18 months of the expedi­ increasingly shallow and swift, icy-cold streams: notably, tion, there would be other retrograde maneuvers before the Beaverhead and Big Hole rivers. The larger group the journey was over-at least two more by my count. bringing up the rear with Clark was struggling upstream After spending a cold, damp winter at Fort Clatsop, on in the dugout canoes. the south shore of the Columbia River, members of the Lewis, after reconnoitering the area, attempted to give expedition were eager to be underway on their homeward his dejected colleagues useful instructions about which journey by March of 1806. As they made their way up the fork they should take. He attached a note to a "green river in early April, the captains learned from the natives pole" taken from a nearby tree and stuck it in the that a large river they had not detected the previous year riverbank at the junction of the two rivers.8 When the entered the Columbia from behind several screening is­ main body arrived at that location, there was no pole lands some miles below their encampment. The natives and no note. (Later it was surmised that an industrious called this stream the Multnomah; today it is known as beaver working in the area had spirited away the impro­ the Willamette River. Although it meant retracing the route vised message totem and incorporated it into its watery they had just traveled, on April 2 Clark "deturmined to domain.) Knowing no differently, Clark chose to go up take a Small party and return to this river and examine its the Big Hole River, which Lewis's note had warned Size" and gather additional information about the coun­ against. After ascending the Big Hole nine hard and pain­ tryside and its inhabitants. He took a crew of seven men ful miles, Clark's party met Drouillard, who told them (including York) and an Indian guide in a large canoe. They of their grievous mistake. Here is what Clark had to say dropped back down the Columbia about twenty miles be­ about that dispiriting moment of truth: fore entering the mouth of the Multnomah. They then ascended that river some distance, visiting with natives [D]ureing ... Brack.fast Drewyer Came to me from they encountered along the way, staying overnight, and Capt. Lewis and infor med me that they had explored returning to the main encampment on April 3 .11 both forks for 30 or 40 miles & that the one we were assending was impractiabl much further up .. .. ac­ This retrograde excursion, of course, differs substan­ cordingly Draped down to the forks where I met tially from those cited earlier. It was not forced. It did not with Capt Lewis & party.9 have to be made, except for the captains' unstinting dedi-

November 2005 \Ve Proceeded On - 25 cation to their mission. And it involved only Clark and a hand-picked contingent of seven men, not the whole corps. On final analysis, the Lewis and Clark Expedition could The Corps of Discovery's last retrograde maneuver, and not, and did not, always maintain its forward progress. arguably its most spectacular, was occasioned by the forces With one notable exception, however, the few retrograde of nature. The explorers arrived back in Nez Perce coun­ maneuvers during its 28-month excursion across the con­ try in May of 1806. They recovered the horses left the tinent and back were momentary setbacks of short dura­ previous year with the Nez Perces for safekeeping and tion and involved modest distances. The real story, of traded for more. But snow still lay impassably deep in the course, is the courage, grit, and determination displayed Bitterroots, so they halted and made camp for several by the cocaptains and their intrepid band as they pushed weeks. This was the Long Camp, or Camp Chopunnish, on to accomplish the daunting mission assigned them by as it was to be called later. They waited impatiently for Thomas Jefferson. Against all odds, they compiled an as­ the snow to melt off the higher elevations. Members of tonishing record of success. the party were eager to cross those "horriable" moun­ tains and be on the last leg of their journey. Finally, against Foundation member Carl Camp is an emeritus professor of the advice of their Nez Perce neighbors, the explorers political science at the University ofNebraska at Omaha. He is a founding member ofthe foundation's Mouth ofthe Platte started into the mountains from the Q uawmash Prairie Chapter and lives in Omaha. on June 15, 1806-without the Indian guides who had promised to accompany them but who declined to start NOTES out so early in the season.12 As the expedition ascended the heights, the trail be­ 1 Rex Ziak, In Full View: A True and Accurate Account ofLewis came increasingly treacherous and the snowdrifts deeper, and Clark's Arrival at the Pacific Ocean, and Their Search for a blotting out the already faint markings of the route. The Winter Camp Along the Lower Columbia River (Astoria, Ore.: Moffitt H ouse Press, 2002). explorers had advanced only about fifty grueling miles by ] une 17 when the captains decided the deteriorating con­ 2 Rex Ziak, "Seven Days on the Lower Columbia," WPO, May 2005, p. 12. ditions were too hazardous to continue. After describing the meticulous reasoning that guided their decision to re­ 3 For a full account of this incident, see Gary E. Moulton, ed., treat, Clark went on to say: The journals ofthe Lewis & Clark Expedition, 13 volumes (Lin­ coln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001), e.g. Vol. 6, pp. Our baggage being laid on Scaffolds and well cov­ 38-50(November10-1 5, 1805). All quotations or references to ered [among the trees], we began our retragrade journal entries in the ensuing text are from Moulton, by date, march at 1 p.m .... the party were a good deel de­ unless otherwise indicated. jected, tho' not as much So as I had apprehended they would have been. [1]his is the first time Since 4 Moulton, Vol. 2, p. 251 (May 24, 1804). In the index to this we have been on this long tour that we have ever volume, Moulton lists the location of the event as "Retagrade been compelled to retreat or make a retragrade [sic] bend." Interestingly, Ordway a11d Floyd stated in their marchY journals that "nothing remarkable" happened 011 this date. Moulton, Vol. 9, p. 7 and p. 275, respectively. Gass noted the So, this was a real retrograde march. A "biggie," in current was swift and the keelboat "nearly upset." Moulton, Clark's mind. His description of the retreat from the Vol. 10, p. 9. Whitehouse said only that the river was "swift." snowy Bitterroots as "the first time ... we have ever been Moulton, Vol. 11 , p. 12. compelled to retreat" contradicts Ziak's accurate account 5 Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 279 CTune 5, 1804). Emphasis added. of the corps' earlier experience with conditions at Point 6 Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 147 (October 6, 1804). Emphasis added. Ellice, near the mouth of the Columbia. C lark likewise dismisses, or ignores, the other four previously cited in­ 7 Ibid., pp. 224-225(November1, 1804). Emphasis added. stances of retrograde maneuvers on the outward jour­ 8 Ibid., Vol. 5, pp. 24-42 (August 1-6, 1805). Emphasis added. ney, at least one of which he denominated as having oc­ 9 Ibid., pp. 54-55 (August 6, 1805). curred at the "Retragrade Bend" on the Missouri early in the journey. Either the captain was in denial, had for­ 10 Ibid. gotten the earlier incidents due to the pressures of inter­ 11 Ibid., Vol. 7, pp. 56-66 (April 2, 1806). vening events, or had a different set of criteria in mind 12 when he spoke of "retragrade" maneuvers engaged in Ibid., Vol. 8, pp. 25-26 (June 15, 1806). by the Corps of Discovery. 13 Ibid., pp. 31-34 (June 17, 1806). Emphasis added.

26 - We Proceeded On November 2005 - ..-:. :;f~~~ / Y.~::c•<-.,; ' , 4:~ • ...,,,.,., ...<. - • • J.., .. -,.,..:>: -~... II' 2 r: , • ~ ·rh-. ~ ' /' ~-;. ------'--:;:-:.::::.---____;:.-'7.f L' . ~ / r;;;:,"""··4, 3 b~ ~ ,1 • ~- r ~~ e~ : - '2.t:'.17.,,~ "':' :>l:Jr. --:::.--·-<...... ";"") ,.,._ _.,.i:-,a.'l[I' y-,.d . ., ¥ ~ o, , 11' • s-...... "--""/"..c'" / ·~ 9,,. ···- "Vd ,,. .i::-<'0'[_ .~ _, ~ ,A-._ ~.;_.,,~~ -...... -<:::;: Let the spirit of Lewis and Clark guide you to St. Joseph, Missouri See through the eyes of the Corps of Discovery with interpretive signs at eleven historic areas along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Then follow in frontier footsteps to explore St. Joseph, a city full of historic attractions. St. Joseph, Missouri - discover it. For more Information visit our web site: www.stjomo .com/lewis&clark 1-800-7 85-0360

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 27 Reviews Lewis and Clark saga renders voices of the Corps of Discovery in blank verse

curiosity never sleeps. His mind is a New Found Land: Lewis and sentinel that remains on duty through Clark's Voyage of Discovery NEW drought, blizzard, fatigue, and starva­ Allan Wolf tion. Like many other works, Wolf's Condlcwick Press exposes Lewis's shortcomings only to 512 Pages I $18.99 cloth bolster the ineradicable reality that he was the most fascinating member of the n the sixth season of Harry Potter, any expedition. Ienterprising author of young reader's Another intriguing characterization fiction looking for shelf space needs a is that of Drouillard, the half-Shawnee bit of wizardry himself. Allan Wolf's woodsman. Drouillard's consciousness telling of the more than twice-told tale tilts sharply toward his native ancestry of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in and, while not quite cynical, contains a verse form may work its magic for strong dose of skepticism. Bonding youngsters who get their hands on this with his fellows and pulling his weight, innovative drama. Wolf gives us an ad­ Wolf's Drouillard never subscribes to venture saga along the lines of Long­ the geopolitical and cultural impera­ fellow's "Song of Hiawatha," which tives that drive the great journey. entertained many of us in our "tweens," The role of narrator is assigned to ages 10 and up, to which his treatment Seaman, dubbed "Oolum." This is an is directed. inventive but unfortunate idea that Wolf is a member of Poetry Alive!, grates nearly every time it is used. (The a touring company. One hopes that he In Wolf's hook, lewis's penetrating narrative segments are themselves ac­ already has converted this book into curate and well crafted.) Having a mi­ several performance scripts. Readable curiosity never sleeps. His mind is a nor character narrate is a well-worn enough as a narrative, New Found Land convention but another (two-legged) cries out to be recited. Its interior sentinel that remains on duty choice would have served better. I monologues would work perfectly for would have nominated Patrick Gass, the stage as soliloquies by the major through drought. blizzard, fatigue. pigeonholed by Wolf as "the carpen­ players. The work possesses some New ter," who opines throughout the poem Age sensibility, channeling, and telepa­ starvation. Despite his shortcoming, about trees and lumber. In a postscript thy but not enough to really annoy Wolf explains that "Oolum" was the those children of the Enlightenment he remains the most fascinating name of Leif Ericson's "bear dog," a who prefer to stick to the facts. Wolf, possible progenitor of the Newfound­ despite his rich, feeling tone, takes care member of the expedition. land breed. to get his facts straight. Oolum proves to be a font of insight Like Brian Hall's novel I Should Be that stretches credibility past the break­ Extremely Happy in Your Company ter, the hunter; York, the slave. The dan­ ing point. He calculates river miles, re­ (WPo, May 2003), Wolf's saga opens like ger is that types can become stereo­ fers to navigational instruments, ren­ a good western with the shattering types. Every person is more than his ders Indian names into their English ambush of Sacagawea's food-gathering status. The thoughts of such diverse equivalents, foreshadows thoughts and party by Hidatsa warriors. This not personae naturally diverge, but a com­ decisions of the captains, and even re­ only gets our attention, it places us mon thread is a tendency to snipe at fers to the Enlightenment. After one where the expedition is going rather Meriwether Lewis for his outwardly piece of historical discourse too many, than where it originated. His lyrical astringent approach to things. Lewis one begins to think one is hearing John descriptions of expedition geography looks at the North American bio­ Logan Allen or James Ronda disguised -the Missouri headwaters, the Gates sphere, not in the mystical Indian way in a glossy-black fur coat. of the Mountains, the Great Falls-will but with the clinical detachment of a For one thing, Seaman has been the ring true for those who have been there. museum curator. subject of books informed by knowl­ Wolf assigns epithets to the Corps Lewis's dissecting knife strips the life edge of canine biology written for chil­ of Discovery: Pierre Cruzatte, the fid­ from one specimen after another. But dren and established readers (e.g., The dler; Hugh Hall, the drinker; John Col- there is a flip side. Lewis's penetrating Captain's Dog, by Roland Smith, and

28 ~ We Proceeded On November 2005 Seaman, The Dog Who Helped Lewis and Clark Explore the West, by Gail Essays present Lewis &Clark in broader context Karwoski; WPO, November 1999). Likewise, Wolf's Oolum is most con­ A major question for many scholars vincing when he "speaks" as one of his The Shortest and Most Convenient is what motivated Lewis and Clark to own species, as when kidnapped by Route: Lewis and Clark in Context act in the manner so carefully chron­ Columbia River Indians. His vulner­ Robert S. Cox, ed. icled in their journals. And how does ability to a bait of biscuits, his fear and American Philosophical Society one explain the successes and failures defiance, and his joy upon his rescue 255 pages I $24 paper of this great adventure, including all will resonate with readers who like that happened in the aftermath of the dogs. o great enterprise, nor that which expedition? Further, why, throughout Inexorably, Wolf directs us to the Nfollows in it wake, takes place in a mus;h of the 19th century, did the Corps inner character beneath the external vacuum. This is certainly true in the of Discovery fail to receive the atten­ trappings. Drouillard sees a lesson in case of the Lewis and Clark tion and credit its great T1tF. S 110RTJ:ST :\ND the fate of a trapped beaver that has Expedition, since the mission :vtos·1· C'c1;x\ 1":"rl1 E:-.: r Hut T E achievement deserved? fought two miles downstream before of the Corps of Discovery This collection seeks to giving up the ghost: "How far will you and the actions of its mem­ tease out some answers to travel to discover who you are?" Saca­ bers and benefactors were in­ these and other questions. gawea struggles over the Bitterroots evitably influenced by the Its success is in large part with her infant, melting snow in her social, political, and cultural due to the caliber and repu­ mouth to mingle with breast milk. "I forces that helped to define tation of its authors. In ad­ will be your tepee now," she avows. and guide the early American dition to writings by Rob­ Reuben Field wrestles with guilt over expenence. ert Cox (a former librarian the young Blackfeet man he killed, and With this in mind, Robert at the American Philo­ receives loving reassurance from S. Cox, head of special col­ sophical Society) the book brother Joseph: "That Indian, he made lections at the University of features essays by Domenic a choice . . . . Brother or not, yer the Massachusetts, Amherst, and a team of Vitiello, an urban planner and historian, best man I know." scholars have written six essays to who teaches urban studies at the Uni­ Through these and other vignettes, "grapple in different ways with the versity of Pennsylvania; S.D. Kimmel, Wolf seduces us into a potent sympa­ complex of motives underlying the a research associate in the history of thy with the explorers. We vicariously Corp of Discovery" and its impact on medicine at the University of Michigan; experience their travails; we yearn to in­ American culture. The essays are based John W. Jengo, a geologist with an en­ tervene and help them; above all, one on papers delivered at the Bicentennial vironmental consulting firm; Brett more time, we wish we had been there. Conference on Lewis and Clark, held Mizelle, an assistant professor of his­ -Dennis M. O'Connell in Philadelphia in 2003. tory and director of American Studies

Lewis and Clark in Washington State o~~N IN VIEW! U ! THE JOY largely overlooked part of the notes the tendency of L&C historians ALewis and Clark saga is explored (and therefore artists) to ignore the in Ocian in view! OJ the joy: Lewis & Snake and Columbia River passages Clark in Washington State (Washing­ in favor of the expedition's Missouri ton State Historical Society, 156 River portion. He attributes this pages, $27.95 paper). oversight to the absence of Lewis The format of this handsome journal entries for these periods,

kt..,.;i""'' IOO;! ... lk:Jc:i!A Cc:a:I' volume consists of facing pages of leaving them dependent on Clark's T1n1Itl!Nr•r C.C.. mtt • text and artwork devoted to notewor­ inchoate if colorful prose. thy events, from trading with local The text by historian Robert C. Carriker states that Clark recorded the tribes to weathering fierce Pacific Carriker is succinct and incisive. "voiced preference" of each person. "In storms. The 78 watercolors by Roger Those who have followed the debate a manner of speaking," he adds, "the Cooke are a splendid addition to the regarding the "vote" at Chinook members of the expedition had voted. remarkable body of bicentennial­ Point on where to establish a winter More accurately, they had been con­ related Lewis and Clark art. The camp will welcome the writer's even­ sulted in a non-binding opinion poll." introduction by David L. Nicandri handed take on this controversy: -J.l.M.

November 2005 We Proceeded On ~ 29 Reviews (cont) at California State University, Long from my personal reading of the jour­ Beach; and Andrew]. Lewis, an assis­ nals, Lewis covered many topics of ge­ Lewis &Clark from tant professor of history at American ology, some so well that even the great University. American geologist Nevin Fenneman Salish perspective In the first essay, Vitiello documents would have benefited from reading the the eminence of Philadelphia's scientific journals when writing his seminal The Salish People leaders and the technological advances books on physiography in the 1930s. 1111tlr/1j they sparked in the period immediately The essay by Brett Mizelle examines Lewis and Clark Expedition prior to the expedition. In 1803, Lewis the impact of public exhibitions of visited Philadelphia, where members of western fauna in early Philadelphia. the American Philosophical Society Mizelle demonstrates that specimens schooled him well in the fields of sci­ brought from the West by Lewis and ence and technology. Clark were treasured additions to Kimmel suggests that philanthropy, Charles Willson Peale's famous Phila­ with its wide range of activities to pro­ delphia museum; somewhat surpris­ mote democracy and human well-be­ ingly, he finds little evidence of much ing, and its role in the era's public interest in Lewis's live The Salish People and political economy were un­ specimens, a prairie dog and the Lewis and Clark Expedition derlying factors in the suc­ a magpie. Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture cess es and failures of the In the final essay, Andrew Committee and Elders Cultural Corps of Discovery. Readers Lewis discusses possible rea­ Adivsory Council, Confederated may find his presentation at sons why Lewis and Clark Salish and Kootenai Tribes times difficult to follow, but and their achievements were University of N ebrasl,Hamilton. popular presentations, such as Un­ both sides. Hearing the Salish's unusual Some scholars think that Lewis and daunted Courage, by Stephen E. Am­ gutteral language, Meriwether Lewis Clark failed to fulfill Jefferson's charge brose, or perhaps a primary source such thought he might be in the presence of to discover the West's "mineral produc­ as the abridged one-volume Journals of the legendary Welsh Indians. For their tions of every kind." After scouring the Lewis and Clark, edited by Bernard part, the Salish mistook the explorers' journals in detail and noting in particu­ DeVoto. Soon, however, many want to short-cropped hair as a sign of mourn­ lar Lewis's observations, John Jengo probe deeper into the character of the ing for comrades killed in battle and shows that geology and mineral re­ American nation in the years leading believed that York had blackened his sources in fact received more attention up to, and immediately following, the skin with charcoal, a gesture of defeat than has been assumed. He contends expedition. This collection of essays at the hands of an enemy. that Lewis's observations cannot be does a wonderful job of providing that These and other examples of cultural seen as deficient when viewed in the context. confusion are explored in The Salish context of the embryonic state of geo­ -John H. Sandy People and the Lewis and Clark Expe­ logic knowledge in the late 1700s and dition, an informative volume compiled the limited knowledge Lewis had in the The reviewer is a librarian at the Uni­ by elders of the affiliated Salish, Pend geological sciences. As I remember versity of Alabama. d'Oreille, and Kootenai tribes. The

30 - We Proceeded On November 2005 book is richly illustrated with contem­ porary and historical art and photog­ La Charrette: forgotten village on the L&C Trail raphy. Much of it is devoted to Salish hen Lewis and Clark were look­ Lowell M. Shake describes these and oral accounts of the encounter with the Wing for a place to spend the winter other adventurers figuring in the town's Lewis and Clark Expedition, but as the of 1803-04 in preparation for their jour­ colorful history in La Charrette: Vil­ introduction makes plain, its purpose ney to the Pacific Ocean, they initially lage Gateway to the American West is to explore "the historical meaning of thought of La Charrette, a village on (self-published; $19.95, paper; order Lewis and Clark within the context of the Missouri River a few miles up­ from www.iuniverse.com). Among Salish culture and history," from the Ice stream from St. Louis. Because La those who settled in or near La Char­ Age to the present. Charrette was located in what was still rette were Daniel Boone and his son­ The authors convey this deeper his­ nominally French territory (the U.S. in-law Flanders Callaway, Corps of tory in part through a discussion of had purchased Louisiana but had yet Discovery member-turned mountain places ii}. the Bitterroot Valley impor­ to take possession of it), they decided manJoho Colter, and an illusive hunter tant as camping, hunting, or fishing instead to winter at Camp River and guide named Charles "Indian" grounds for thousands of years and still Dubois, in Illinois. Phillips. As a fourth great-grandson of known by their tribal names. To the Despite that missed historic oppor­ John Colter (who died in La Charrette Salish, the meadow where they met tunity, La Charrette still figures in the in 1812), I especially enjoyed reading Lewis and Clark isn't Ross's Hole but story of westward expansion. Zebulon about his home on Little Boef Creek, (as rendered in the International Pho­ Pike stopped there on his way to ex­ where he lived with his wife, Sarah, and netic Alphabet) K''i:I+ PupM1, pro­ plore what is now Colorado. Other their children, Hiram and Evelina. In­ nounced something like Cutl-kkh­ visitors included the explorer Stephen dian Phillips was a neighbor. poohlm. It means Coming Out into a H. Long, trapper Jim Bridger, and Paul Osage Indians were the original resi­ Big Open Space, which is exactly as it Wilhelm of Wiirttemberg, a German dents of the land where Charrette must have appeared to the captains on duke who employed Toussaint Char­ Creek joins the Missouri. The first that day 200 years ago. bonneau as his interpreter on an excur­ white settlers of Charrette Bottom were -J.l.M. sion up the Missouri in 1823. probably French-Canadians who ar-

November 2005 We Proceeded On ~ 31 Reviews (cont)

rived there in the 1760s. They were fol­ the river as today would be considered lowed in turn by Anglos, African­ navigable. A year later he put in at Americans, and German immigrants in Orofino, Idaho, near where Lewis and what Shake calls a "continuing process Clark built dugout canoes for their run of cultural assimilation." The author to the Pacific. Once again H ershel www.sunnysideoflouisville.org links the microcosm of village life to manned watch in the bow. Six weeks Clarksville • Jeffersonville • New Albany nation-shaping events such as the Loui­ later, after battling driving wind and Falls of the Ohio lmcrpretive Center • Mansion Row siana Purchase, the War of 1812, and fearsome waves on the lower Colum­ Steamboat (Era) Museum the forced removal of Eastern Indians bia, he reached Fort Clatsop. Downtown Historic Districts • Lewis & Clark Starue on the Trail of Tears. For the most part not a great deal -Timothy Forrest Coulter happened along the way, and in the end Bechtold faults himself fo r not taking more time to have "walked the banks In Brief: River journey: of the river more, seen more of the country and visited with more of the "L&C Review" people." Still, the author manages to tell an engaging if understated story, and On April 20, 1998, Chris Bechtold of for anyone wishing to repeat his jour­ Choteau, Montana, departed the recon­ ney he offers several pages of advice. structed Camp River Dubois in Illinois. He set off down the Mississippi and Written and edit*ed by Patrick Lee, then up the Missouri in a 14-foot jon Mosquitoes, Gnats & Prickly Pear Cac­ boat (named Teddy, after Theodore tus: The Lewis & Clark Review (self­ Roosevelt) powered by a 9.9-horse­ published; $18.95, paper; order from power outboard engine. At his mother's www.patricklee.com) is a brisk one­ insistence he carried a cell phone. His volume narrative of the Lewis and purpose, as stated inA Current Adven­ Clark Expedition. Lee, a professional ture: I n the Wake interpreter of historic figures-his stage of Lewis and personas are William Clark, Thomas Clark (self-pub­ Jefferson, and Daniel Boone-devotes George Rogers Clark bidding besr wishes lished; $14.95, pa- .L­ the first six of his 43 chapters to to his younger brorher p,er;· order from ~ Jefferson's vision and preparations for www.aricavent ~ll!:i. the expedition. After that, his text con­ William "Billy" Clark and or._ ures.com) was to sists of brief excerpts from the L&C Meriwether Lewis retrace most of the journals, along with occasional short to explore the Lou isiana Purd1ase. outbound river commentary. Thus, the Lewis & Clark route of the Corps .. The last three chapters are devoted of Discovery 194 to the explorers' post-expeditionary Expedition began here years before. The lives and their legacy. Lee avoids gran­ on October 26, 1803. writer's traveling diose statements about the expedition's companion-his erstwhile Seaman­ geopolitical importance or politically au Please plan to attend our annual was Herschel (shown above with the courant claims regarding its impact on author), a mutt rescued from the ani­ the environment and Native-American Lewis & Clark Festival mal shelter in Missoula, Montana. cultures (for good or ill, it's hard to imag­ held this year on October 22-23, 2005 From time to time they were joined by ine the history of westward expansion Bechtold's dad and a family friend who being significantly different had Lewis rendezvoused with them at various and Clark stayed home). Instead he spots along the route. By November 7 holds to the more credible notion that Bechtold had reached Toston Dam, their greatest contribution was the ac­ south of Helena. He was still short of count they left describing what they did the Three Forks and hundreds of miles and saw. It is the journals themselves, from the upper Beaverhead River, he declares, that "have made it possible where the explorers had left their ca­ for the rest of us to share in this extraor­ noes to cross overland to the Salmon dinary American adventure." River, but he had gone about as far on -J.l.M.

32 - We Proceeded On November 2005 'Jount'fi{

-

November 2005 We Proceeded On ~ 33 For the Record Reuhin vs. Reuben Field: What's in aname?

eriwether Lewis and William Clark Msingled out the Field brothers of Kentucky as among the most valuable members of the Corps of Discovery. The captains invariably spelled the ?7 Rp ~/~ younger Field's name as "Reubin," and this is the spelling one most often finds ~~~~N-4 ~ ~ in accounts of the expedition published over the last quarter century. It is also the spelling used by Gary E. Moulton in his authoritative, 13-volume]oumals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. But is it correct? This magazine's style sheet, which I continually update, has flip-flopped on the spelling. Until recently I had been Reuben Field's signature on a legal document in archives at Cape Girardeau, Missouri using "Reubin," as per Moulton. This is how his name was spelled in an ar­ lished after the mid-1980s spell it Roy E. Appleman published in the ticle I was preparing last winter for "Reubin." The shift coincides with the Filson Club Quarterly 49, no. 1, pp. 5- publication in the May 2005 issue when Moulton edition of the journals, which 36 (1975), titled "Joseph and Reubin WPO's proofreader Carl Camp pointed began publication in 1983. Stephen Field, Kentucky Frontiersmen of the out that the name should be spelled Ambrose's Undaunted Courage (1996) Lewis and Clark Expedition and Their with an e. As if to reinforce his point, spells it with an i, although Dayton Father, Abraham." when I spelled the name with an i in an Duncan's Out West (1987) spells it with When I discussed the Reuben/ e-mail message, my spell checker an e. James Ronda spells it "Reuben" Reubin question via e-mail with James flagged it as incorrect. Next, I went to in Lewis and Clark among the Indians Holmberg, a prominent Lewis and the dictionary and could find no entry (1984) and "Reubin" in Finding the Clark scholar at the Louisville institu­ for "Reub in." I did find one for West (2001). Sticking with the older tion now known as the Filson Histori­ "Reuben," however. It told me that style, Albert Furtwangler spells it cal Society, he checked an 1807 docu­ Reuben was the oldest son of Jacob in "Reuben" in Acts of Discovery (1999), ment in the society's archives bearing the Bible; "the Reuben," I also learned, as do Clay S. Jenkinson in The Char­ Field's signature. Holmberg found that is an annual award for cartoonists and acter of Meriwether Lewis (2000) and this signature was also written with an a sandwich named for the Manhattan Thomas P. Slaughter in Exploring Lewis e. H e noted as well that on both the eatery where it originated. and Clark (2003). Elin Woodger and Cape Girardeau and Filson signatures The article that spawned this inquiry Brandon Toropov spell it "Reubin" in the i in Field is dotted, making it un­ concerned Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Encyclopedia of the Lewis and Clark likely that the signer wrote his Chris­ where the younger Field and several Expedition (2004) but list "Reuben" as tian name with an undotted i. other expedition members settled after an alternative spelling. H olmberg also pointed out that their return to St. Louis. The article's The documents reprinted in Donald spelling was "still pretty flexible" in illustrations include a photocopy of a Jackson's Letters ofthe Lewis and Clark those days and that members of Field's document with Field's signature. Tak­ Expedition with R elated D ocuments, family, as well as Reuben himself, at ing a closer look at the signature, I saw 1783-1854 (1968 and 1978) include, on least on occasion may have spelled his that the first name w as spelled page 379, a p etition signed by seven name with an i. Based on the signatures "Reuben." The spelling is unambigu­ members of the Corps of Discovery; one on the Cap e Girardeau and Filson ous-the upper part of the second e of the signers was the younger Field, documents, however, he too concluded appears as an oval, not as an undotted whose name Jackson rendered with an that "Reuben" was probably correct. i. The first e is written this way, too. e. In his editorial commentary Jackson Holmberg added, "Now, if we can only This launched me on a survey of sec­ also spelled it "Reuben, " although later, determine when he died and where he ondary sources. What I found was that in Among the Sleeping Giants (1987), he is buried and h ow and w here his any book published before the mid- spelled it "Reubin." brother Joseph died. " 1980s spells the name "Reuben," while The Reubin spelling, I discovered, -J.I. Merritt most, if by no means all, books pub- appears to originate with an article by Editor,WPO

34 - We Proceeded On November 2005 L&C Roundup Fire destroys Fort Clatsop replica: Thomsen, others elected: Bud Clark honored

n the night of October 3 a fire plan and the foundation's Third aof unknown origin destroyed Century Endowment Fund. most of Fort Clatsop, the recon­ Additional goals include expan­ structed log home of the Corps sion of the foundation's trail of Discovery during its winter stewardship efforts and cultural on the Pacific coast. By the time diversity education. firefighters responded to the Three others were elected to blaze and got it under control the serve three-year terms on the fort was a total loss. About half board of directors: the fort was destroyed outright James Brooke of Colorado and the other half gutted. The Springs, Colorado, begins his only part left unharmed was the first term on the board, and front gate. Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs of Fortunately, there were no Helena, Montana, begins her injuries, and most of the fort's first full term. She served six interpretive items and supplies The smouldering remains of Fort Clatsop the morning after fire. months on the board in 2005, had been removed for winter filling the remainder of Chuck storage. Officials of the National Park Historical Park, which comprises L&C Cook's term when he retired. Karen Service, which administers the historic sites on both the Oregon and Washing­ Seaberg of Atchison, Kansas, was also site, inimediately announced plans to ton sides of the Columbia estuary. elected to her first full term on the rebuild the SO-year-old replica in a way Tax-deductible donations for the board. She served the remaining two that will reflect recent scholarship rebuilding can be sent to the Fort Clat­ years of a vacated position in 2004 and about the fort's layout. sop Historical Association, 92343 Fort 2005. Investigators have at least tentatively Clatsop Road, Astoria, OR 97103. Brooke completed 20 years of ser­ concluded that the fire did not result For current information about the vice as a Navy pilot in 1991, and since from arson. It's possible that fireplace fire and its aftermath, visit The Daily that time has worked in the aerospace embers may have sparked the blaze. Astorian 's Web site, www.dailyasto industry overseeing engineering pro­ According to The Daily Astorian, two nan.com. grams both in the United States and of the fort's fireplaces had fires going abroad. He currently serves as senior that afternoon, although they were pre­ Thomsen and other new officers director of Space and Strategic Opera­ sumably extinguished by the time the Patti Thomsen of Oconomowoc, Wis­ tions for ARINC Engineering Services, fort closed for the evening. A fireplace consin, was elected president of the LLC, overseeing the program perfor­ fire slightly damaged the fort in 2002. Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foun­ mance, finances, and operations for 150 Fireproofing was added when the fire­ dation at its annual meeting, held Au­ people in 13 locations throughout the places and chimneys were recon­ gust 7-10 in Portland, Oregon. western United States. structed last year. Other officers elected were Jim Ambrose Tubbs is coauthor of The The fire occurred two months after Gramentine of Mequon, Wisconsin Lewis and Clark Companion: An En­ participants of the LCTHF's annual (president-elect); Ron Laycock of Ben­ cyclopedic Guide to the Voyage ofDis­ meeting in Portland toured the site and son, Minnesota (vice president); Phyllis covery. She lectures nationally about just a month before Destination: The Yeager of Floyd Knobs, Indiana, (sec­ her experiences and observations on the Pacific, the L&C Bicentennial signature retary); and Charles H. Holland, Jr., of Lewis and Clark National Historic event scheduled for November 11-15 Mesa, Arizona (treasurer). Gordon Trail, which she first followed in 1976 in Astoria. Juli.ch of Lee's Summit, Missouri, will with her father, author Stephen E. The replica, which is located near a serve as in1mediate past president. Ambrose. She holds two degrees in his­ tidal creek about six miles south of Thomsen, whose one-year term co­ tory from the University of Montana Astoria, was built by local volunteers incides with the last year of the three­ and serves on the boards of the Great in the 1950s in time for the lSOth anni­ year-long Lewis and Clark Bicenten­ Falls L&C Interpretive Center and the versary of the Lewis and Clark Exped­ nial, joined the foundation in 1984 and American Prairie Foundation. ition's arrival at the Pacific. The Na­ attended her first annual meeting later Seaberg is a travel consultant and co­ tional Park Service took over the site that year. A member of its board of di­ owner of a restaurant in Atchison. She in 1958. Since last year it has been part rectors for eight years, she will oversee has served on the Atchison Lewis and of the new Lewis and Clark National development of an updated strategic Clark Bicentennial Committee and the

November 2005 We Proceeded On ~ 35 L&C Roundup (cont)

Kansas Coalition for the Lewis and at the Filson Historical Society, the J ef­ cave's grafitti may include an inscrip­ Clark Bicentennial. She is chairwoman f erson National Expansion Memorial, tion by John O rdway. When Lewis was of the Governor's Kansas Lewis and the Gerald Ford Museum, and the exploring the cliff he Clark Bicentennial Commission and Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library, alm ost fe ll to his served on the executive committee of as well as at the foundation's annual death. Through the "Heart of America: AJourney Fourth," meetings and at firearms conventions. efforts of Huger a L&C Bicentennial signature event. Clark has portrayed his famous an­ and the Missouri cestor with the Discovery Expedition of D.A.R., a marker Bud Clark honored St. Charles, Missouri, along the Lewis commemor a ting Also at the Portland meeting, the and Clark Trail from Monticello to Fort Lewis and Clark's LCTHF honored Peyton "Bud " Clark, Clatsop and has spoken at bicentennial visit was placed at a descendant of Captain William Clark, signature events and other venues along the site in 1971. Lucie Huger with its 2005 Distinguished Service the trail. More recently, she was active in fund­ Award, given for contributions that raising for a statue, expected to be un­ further the foundation's objectives. Passages: Lucie Huger veiled next year in St. Louis, com­ Clark worked tirelessly to refurbish Lucie Furstenberg Huger, a longtime memorating the expedition's return. the St. Louis gravesite of William member of the LCTHF, author, and Huger was the author of St. Albans: Clark. It was through his leadership activist in behalf of Lewis and Clark, History and Folklore of a Missouri that other Clark descendants joined in died on September 7 in St. Louis, five River To wn (reviewed in the May 2002 raising funds for the restoration and days short of her 89th birthday. WPO). She majored in history at Mary­ participated in a ceremony to rededi­ Born and raised in St. Louis, H uger mount College, where she wrote a se­ cate the monument. for 28 years lived in the Missouri River nior thesis on Wild Bill Hickok. Hopi H e has shared his significant collec­ community of St. Albans. The Corps Indians made her an honorary mem­ tion of historical weapons and artifacts of Discovery stopped in the vicinity on ber of their tribe for her work in behalf from the Lewis and Clark era. Items May 23, 1804, and examined a cave in of the American Indian Cultural Cen­ from the collection have been displayed the cliffs above the river. Some of the ter, in St. Louis. • I I t I

36 - We Proceeded On November 2005 Members throng to annual LCTHF meeting in Portland

ome 400 people gathered in Portland, SOregon, August 7-10 to take part in "Gateway to the Pacific," the 37th annual meeting of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. The five-day total immersion in all things Lewis and Clark featured marathon bus tours of key Corps of Discovery sites on the lower Columbia River, a battery of speakers addressing a staggeringly broad range of subjects, and "Camp Pomp," a youth camp for Lewis and Clark novitiates. The meeting was held, appropriately, at Lewis and Clark College, whose library boasts what may be the world's best collection of Lewis and Clark books. Participants could sample talks on Lewis and Clark's impact on the environment and Native American cultures in the Pacific Northwest; Clark's controversial claim about first seeing the Pacific ("Ocian in view!") from a distance of 26 miles; York and other black explorers of the West; Clockwise from above: Sacagawea in fact and fiction; Lewis • A visit to the National Park and Clark's literary legacy; and one Service reconstruction of Fort Clatsop, two months before it man's struggle with Lewis and Clark was destroyed by fire. bibliomania. Other sessions addressed • At Cape Disappointment, salmon, rock art, weather, weapons, where the Columbia River medicine, wildflowers, and music, meets the Pacific Ocean. • Statue of Sacagawea on the among other Lewis and Clark-related Lewis and Clark College topics. campus. Next year's annual meeting will be • A stop at Prescott Beach, held September 18-20 in St. Louis. Oregon, site of the L&C campsite of November 5, 1805. -J.l.M.

November 2005 We Proceeded On - 37 Dispatches "Iron men" of Patit Creek recall Lewis &Clark in eastern Oregon

n the spring of 1806, following a cold, Iwet, miserable winter on the Pacific coast, the members of the Corps of Volunteers for North Western Discov­ ery started home. Part of the first phase of their route took them from the mouth of the Walla Walla River over­ land to the mouth of the Kooskooskie or Clearwater River. The explorers were on this section of the trail on May 2 when they reached the confluence of the Touchet River and Patit Creek, in today's eastern Washington. After sharing a snack of cow parsnip with their Walla Walla native guides, they continued up Patit Creek a few miles and" encamped on the N. side in a little bottom," according to the journals. Seventy-eight metal silhouettes represent the Corps of Discovery's campsite of May 2, 1806. They ate dog meat for dinner, then bedded down under a cold rain that houettes at the campsite. scaping with native plants. He also en­ later turned to snow. The next day The owners of the surrounding listed the help of local and state histo­ they continued east. property, the Broughton Land Com­ rians to determine what the campsite The campsite, next to a county road pany, donated seven and a half acres for would have looked like when it was near Dayton, Washington, remained the project. In 2000, as an initial step, occupied by the explorers. remote and mostly forgotten for many several basalt monoliths were placed on An actual camp was then set up at years. But as the bicentennial of the the site along with a plaque explaining the site, complete with tents, horses, explorers' stay at the camp approached, its significance. dogs, and volunteers- some dressed as residents wondered how they might Touchette, meanwhile, raised more explorers and others as the Walla Wallas commemorate this small part of the than $100,000 from the Washington who accompanied them. The organiz­ Lewis and Clark story. Led by a former State Historical Society and the Wash­ ers took care to ensure the historical ac­ Columbia County commissioner, ington State Bicentennial Advisory curacy of clothing, weapons, supplies, George Touchette, they came up with Committee to pay for the silhouettes, and tack. Photographs were taken, and the idea of placing life-sized steel sil- interpretive signs, and the site's land- figures and objects were then cut from the photos and transferred to paste boards. The cutouts were used by the Foundation honors four for furthering L&C legacy firm of NW Art Casting of nearby At its recent annual meeting in Port­ Helen Markwell, a re-enactor who Umapine, Oregon, as models for the 78 land, Oregon, the LCTHF honored portrays Patrick Gass, one of the exped­ full-size silhouettes. Arranged in a table­ four people with appreciation awards ition's sergeants, for her presentations at top mockup, the cutouts also guided in recognition of their efforts to pre­ schools, many in remote areas and with placement of the silhouettes at the site. serve the lagacy of Lewis and Clark: limited resources, throughout her native The silhouettes were set into concrete David Hendee, a staff writer for the West Virginia. bases at the site earlier this year. A dedi­ Omaha World-Herald, for his leader­ Jim Sergeant of Bozeman, Montana, cation took place on July 15. ship in planning and executing his for founding "200 Birthday Parties for Visitors can drive to the site by turn­ paper's coverage of the 200th anniver­ Pomp," a worldwide effort to honor ing east off U.S. 12 in Dayton and con­ sary of the L&C Expedition. Sacagawea's son. It has resulted in more tinuing two and a half miles along Patit Darrel Draper, re-enactor and co­ than 450 celebrations in Canada, En­ Creek Road. It's especially nice to ar­ founder of the foundation's Mouth of gland, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, J a­ rive there on a spring or summer the Platte Chapter, for his interpreta­ maica, Thailand, France, Kenya, Ger­ evening and see the explorers going tion of hunter George Drouillard, many, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Turkey, and about their chores in the orange glow which he has delivered at countless the U.S. More than 16,000 people have of a Northwestern sunset. schools and other venues in Nebraska. attended the festivities. • - Gary Lentz

38 ~ We Proceeded On November 2005 Soundings (cont from p. 40) to make a case for reversing the sequence the letters. Library of Congress, Thomas of the shots but to make a case that the Jefferson Papers, John Brahan to Thomas gument that he would not fire a gun at accepted sequence is presumed rather Jefferson, 18 October 1809, document his own head and nearly miss. Vardis than known and that a reversed sequence 33520-21, series 1, roll 44; National Ar­ chives. Records of the Office of the Sec­ Fisher viewed skeptically the propo­ is at least as plausible-whether the act retary of War, RG 107, John Brahan to nents of the suicide theory: "They ask was murder or suicide. For those pon­ William Eustis, B-589, 18October 1809, us to believe that a man familiar with dering the mystery of Meriwether microfilm M221, roll 18, frame 5632. firearms from childhood, the use of Lewis's death, one more uncertainty is J Fisher, p. 142. which for him must have been almost added to an already long list. second nature, aimed at his head with 4 Jackson, Vol. 2, p. 574. a pistol (not a rifle), evidently intend­ Foundation member Ann Rogers lives 5 E.G. Chuinard, "How Did Meriwether ing to shoot through his brain, and in St. Louis. She is the author of Lewis Lewis Die? It Was Murder," We Pro­ only grazed his skull. "6 Fisher's skep­ and C lark in Missouri (University of ceeded On, November 1991, p. 8. ticism has been echoed in recent years Missouri Press, third edition, 2003). 6 Fisher, p. 247. by murder theorists who have asked that Lewis's remains be exhumed. N OTES 1 But an argument for murder that is Donald Jackson, ed., Letters ofthe Lewis 2006 signature events based in part on the belief that Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related The four L&C Bicentennial signature Documents, 1783-1854, 2 volumes (Ur­ would not fire at his head so ineffec­ events for 2006 are: Among the Nimi­ bana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), tively is weakened by reversing the ac­ Vol. 2, p. 468. puu (Nez Perce), June 14-17, 2006, cepted order of the shots. The idea that Lewiston, Idaho; Clark on the Yel­ 2 I read the Brahan quotations in Vardis Lewis could almost miss becomes far lowstone, July 22-25, 2006, Billings, Fisher, Suicide or Murder? The Strange more plausible if we think of his shot Montana; Home ofSakaka wea, August Death of Governor Meriwether Lewis 17-20, 2006, Bismarck, North Dakota; to the head as the second shot, fired (Chicago: Swallow Press, 1962), pp. 140- while he was physically and mentally 41. I thank Thomas Danisi, who has just and Confluence with D estiny: The Re­ shocked by an earlier shot to his body. completed a biography of Meriwether turn of Lewis & Clark, September 20- My primary intent, however, is not Lewis, for providing the full citations for 24, 2006, St. Louis, Missouri.

Lewis and Clark: Adventures West

LEWIS & CLARK An introductory book on the great explorers, ADVENTURES with breathtaking photography of the I WEsT 8 actual route. Also

- --~- appropriate for - -~4""' youth & young adults! . ~ « ·• _...... <-·. by John Hamilton ,~· .r:.-.~ -. •, Price: $28.00 f ..- .... ·:;·/. -~.\ \ • 192 pages •Hardcover • 187 Illustrations • 4 maps • Travel tips Embark on a most remarkable River Bvjo11NC. HAMIL:rON Journey. Join our historian and Makes a Great Gift! wildlife g uidefor an unforgettable journey through the Mo ntana landscapes of L ewis & Clark and Foreword by Ron Laycock, president of the CORPS OF DISCOVERY. the Lewis anti Clark '!rail Heritage Foundation

Order Online at: www.sparrowmediagroup.com www.ye ll owstonesafarl.com

November 2005 We Proceeded On ~ 39 Soundings

The Gunshots at Grinder's Stand Assumptions about their sequence can lead investigators astray

BY ANN ROGERS

would rather photograph sunlit land­ qualifying phrases "it was thought" and I scapes along the Lewis and Clark Trail "it is said" in his letters to Jefferson and than move through the metaphorical dark­ Eustis may indicate he questioned the ness of Grinder's Stand, but one element worth of Neelly's proposed sequence. in the mystery of Meriwether Lewis's In his letter to Stoddard, Brahan for­ death intrigues me: the presumed sequence goes speculation and states simply that of the fatal shots. Model 1799 Army Lewis "had shot himself in the head and pistol of the type ~ 3 The traditionally accepted sequence Lewis may have ~ just below his breast. " began with the slightest implication, carried on his ~ Brahan had chosen his words carefully, fateful journey turned quickly to hearsay, and was then c but Neelly's scenario was on its way to stated as fact. being accepted as reality. Neelly's infor­ Lewis, while en route from St. Louis to Washington, D .C., mation regarding Lewis's death apparently provided the stopped at Grinder's Stand, intending to spend a night at this foundation for an account given by Captain Gilbert Russell, remote way station on the Natchez Trace in Tennessee. Dur­ who was the post commander at Fort Pickering, near ing the early hours of October 11, 1809, he died from gun­ Chickasaw Bluffs, when Lewis stayed there en route to shot wounds. He had been traveling from Chickasaw Bluffs Grinder's Stand. On November 26, 1811, Russell stated, in {present-day Memphis) with James Neelly, agent to the what bas become an often-quoted letter, that Lewis "dis­ Chickasaws, but Neelly said later that searching for strayed charged one [pistol] against his forehead without much ef­ horses had delayed his arrival at Grinder's Stand until some fect-the ball not penetrating the skull but only making a hours after Lewis's death. furrow over it. He then discharged the other against his breast Neelly continued to Nashville where, on October 18, he where the ball entered and passing downward thro' his body wrote to Thomas Jefferson, the former president, then in re­ came out low down near his back bone."~ With the addition tirement at Monticello. Describing the manner in which of the word "then," the sequence that is barely implied in Lewis had died a week earlier, Neelly reported: "He had shot Neelly's letter to Jefferson and reported as hearsay by Brahan himself in the head with one pistol & a little below the Breast is elevated to the level of fact in the Russell document. It has with the other."1 No sequence is stated and none is implied, since become common to speak or write of the shot to the beyond simply mentioning the head first. head as the "first shot" and the shot to the body as the "sec­ On the same day that Neelly wrote to Jefferson, Captain ond shot," as though the sequence could be known. John Brahan, 2nd U.S. Infantry, wrote three letters from Throughout the long debate on whether Lewis's death was Nashville concerning Lewis's death, which he had learned suicide or murder, those who have rejected Neelly's report about from Neelly. The recipients were Jefferson, Secretary that Lewis killed himself have not challenged Neelly's pro­ of War William Eustis, and Lewis's friend and Army col­ posed sequence for the fatal shots. In a 1991 article, E.G. league Captain Amos Stoddard. Chuinard used the traditionally accepted sequence when he In his letter to Jefferson, Brahan writes of Lewis: "He had constructed a scenario that had Neelly enter Lewis's room shot himself first it was thought in the head. the ball did not and graze his skull with the first shot as Lewis woke and take effect. the other shot was a little below his breast." In began to rise up. "The second shot entered the chest and went his letter to Eustis, he says that Lewis "shot himself with downward to exit in the low back, a course explained by the two pistols: the first ball it is said wounded him in the head fact that Lewis was in the semi-upright position."5 If the other entered a little below his breast. "2 Chuinard's reconstruction is correct, we can view Neelly as It's not known why Neelly, in speaking to Brahan, would a murderer who tipped his hand when he told Brahan the offer a sequence for the shots, something he had not done sequence of the shots; but if he did not fire the shots, the in his letter to Jefferson. According to Neelly's account, no sequence Neelly offered can be no better than a guess. one acknowledged witnessing the shooting, and neither of Those who believe Lewis was murdered often use the ar- Lewis's wounds was immediately fatal. Brahan's use of the Soundings continues on page 39

40 - We Proceeded Oii November 2005